Putin Critic Alexei Navalny Handed 19 More Years In Prison

Navalny, the most prominent opponent of Vladimir Putin, is already serving 11-1/2 years

Melekhovo, Russia:

Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was sentenced on Friday to an additional 19 years in prison after being found guilty on a series of new charges, Navalny’s supporters said on social media.

In a video feed from a court hearing at a penal colony east of Moscow, Navalny could be seen wearing a black prison uniform and standing with his arms folded as he listened to the verdicts.

The audio feed from the court was so poor that it was practically impossible to make out what the judge was saying.

Navalny, the most prominent opponent of President Vladimir Putin, is already serving 11-1/2 years in the penal colony on charges including fraud that he says were trumped up to silence him.

He had predicted on the eve of the verdict that he would receive a “Stalinist” sentence of about 18 more years.

The battery of new charges related to alleged extremist activity by the 47-year-old politician.

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