Navalny took advantage of the hearing to lash out at the Kremlin again. He called Russian President Vladimir Putin “a dangerous madman” who has started a “stupid war”. “A madman has Ukraine in his clutches and nobody knows what he wants with it,” said Navalny, who attended the hearing via video link.
‘mock trial’
In late March, the Kremlin critic was sentenced to nine years in prison for fraud and contempt of court. The court ruled on Tuesday that the verdict remains unchanged and must take effect “immediately”. He is currently serving a 2.5-year sentence. That sentence will be replaced by the new sentence of nine years, less more than a year, the time he has already been incarcerated.
Navalny denies embezzling money and says the lawsuit is politically motivated. Human rights groups have also described the case as a “mock trial” designed to silence the 45-year-old opposition leader. “You, your system and Putin are the traitors to the Russian people,” Navalny snapped at the judge on Tuesday. He compared the lawsuit to the war in Ukraine: both ‘built entirely on lies’.
It comes as no surprise that Navalny is losing the legal battle. Since the 45-year-old opposition leader returned from Germany early last year, where he was recovering from a failed attempt by the Russian secret service to poison him, authorities have been trying to put him behind bars for as long as possible.
‘Insane Little Tsar’
In the camp where Navalny now resides, he can have regular contact with the outside world. From the start of the war in Ukraine, he made his displeasure heard loud and clear. Navalny, among other things, called Putin a “insane little czar” and encouraged the Russian people to put aside their fears and protest the invasion. ‘Everything has a price. If we have to fill the prisons to stop the war, we will fill the prisons,” Navalny said.
It is feared that such expressions will no longer be possible after his transfer. The authorities would like to detain him in the penal colony IK-6 in Melechovo, in the Vladimir region. In that penal camp there is a very strict regime, and prisoners are said to be mistreated and tortured. Even if Navalny is spared such suffering, the authorities will do everything they can to cut him off from the outside world.
Navalny didn’t seem to worry about that during the hearing. He showed himself to be combative and even joked about the poor quality of the video connection. At the end of his speech, Navalny once again turned directly to Putin. “One day your time will be up and you will burn in hell,” he concluded.