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A Russian court sentenced Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to nine years in prison on Tuesday.
Officially, Vladimir Putin's most prominent political challenger is to be jailed for large-scale fraud and contempt of court.
Navalny had pleaded not guilty, saying the allegations against him were politically motivated.
He can still appeal.
Originally, the prosecution had even called for 13 years, Navalny's spokeswoman assesses the reasons for this harsh sentence.
Kira Yarmysh, Navalny's spokeswoman: "It's no surprise that Putin wants to jail Alexei Navalny for as long as he is in power. We are absolutely certain that having him locked up was his direct order.”
Shortly after the verdict was announced, Navalny's lawyers were arrested and then released.
The Kremlin critic himself responded on Twitter by quoting his favorite TV show, The Wire:
"
I've only been in jail for two days: the day I go in and the day I go out."
The opposition
figure is currently in a prison camp in eastern Moscow, where he is serving his first two-and-a-half-year sentence for alleged probation violations.
In August 2020, Navalny was treated in Germany for a poison attack allegedly carried out by the Kremlin.
He was arrested on his return to Russia in January 2021.
His supporters continue to criticize Putin's policies and his war in Ukraine on social media.
