Russian justice examines on appeal the sentence of Navalny to nine years in prison

A Moscow court began on Tuesday May 17 to examine on appeal the conviction in March of nine years of detention in “

” for “

” of the main Russian opponent, Alexeï Navalny.

Read alsoRussia: Alexeï Navalny faces fifteen years in prison after a new trial

Imprisoned since January 2021 for another case, the opponent is participating in the trial by videoconference from penal colony number 2 in Pokrov, about a hundred kilometers east of Moscow, noted an AFP journalist.

He appears locked in a cage, in a prisoner's uniform, according to the images broadcast in the courtroom.

"Fraud" and "contempt of court"

On March 22, the opponent, accused of embezzling millions of rubles in donations to his anti-corruption organizations, was sentenced to nine years in prison for "

" as well as for "

", after a trial that was taking place in a courtroom in the Pokrov settlement.

This sentence imposed on the charismatic anti-corruption activist includes that pronounced in March 2021 for “

”, in a case dating back to 2014 and involving the French company Yves Rocher.

Alexei Navalny was arrested in January 2021 on his return from Berlin, where he had spent several months recovering from poisoning by a nerve agent, for which he holds Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible.

The latter categorically denies and no investigation has been opened.

This arrest marked the starting point for the acceleration of a broad crackdown on all anti-Kremlin movements and independent media in Russia.

A call to "crush Putin's propaganda"

Since the launch of the Russian military assault against Ukraine on February 24, the opponent has denounced a "

" - a term prohibited by Russian law to describe the offensive - "

".

In mid-April, the Kremlin's top critic called

polls that Vladimir Putin's popularity had been on the rise since the start of the offensive "

“

,” he said from his colony.

The opponent also called on Western digital giants to open an "

" to "

".

The Russian authorities have strongly increased their pressure and their legal arsenal to control communication on the conflict in Russia, threatening to impose sentences of up to 15 years in prison for the dissemination of "

" about the Russian army.

Read alsoRussian opponent Alexei Navalny receives an additional nine years in prison

The opponent's main organizations had been qualified as "

" by the courts in June 2021, a decision which led to their closure and the prosecution of many of their activists.

Many of them are now in exile.

At the end of January, Alexei Navalny was himself placed on the list of "

".

Sarcastically, he had told his supporters in September not to worry about him, because he would be “

”