Sentenced in June 2022 in a case of fraud which he describes as political revenge, the 47-year-old activist is already serving a nine-year prison sentence there.
The European Union has deemed “unacceptable” the sentencing of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny to 19 additional years in prison on Friday, denouncing a “politically motivated” verdict and calling again for his “immediate and unconditional” release.
At the end of a “rigged trial”, “this arbitrary conviction is a response to his courage to criticize the Kremlin regime”, declared the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, on X (ex-Twitter). “The EU condemns in the strongest terms (…) his arrest, his trial and his conviction for political reasons”, added the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, in a press release.
This sentence “raises new concerns about judicial harassment and the instrumentalization of the judicial system for political purposes in Russia”, denounced the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, in a press release.
“Blatant injustice”
The sentencing of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny to 19 additional years in prison on Friday in Russia is a “flagrant injustice”, denounced German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
“Putin fears nothing more than those who oppose war, corruption and defend democracy, even from a prison cell. It will not silence critical voices,” added the minister in a message on X (ex-Twitter).
The United States reacts
The United States “strongly condemns” the 19-year prison sentence imposed on Russian opponent Alexei Navalny on Friday, said their head of diplomacy Antony Blinken, assuring that the Kremlin could not “stifle the truth”.
“Navalny should be released,” the secretary of state added in a Twitter post, retitled “X.”
“This is the unfair conclusion of an unfair trial,” the State Department spokesperson also assured in a press release, referring to a new judicial sentence based “on unfounded accusations of so-called “extremism”” .
“By conducting this new trial in secret and limiting Navalny’s lawyers’ access to alleged evidence, the Russian authorities have once again demonstrated (…) that they do not grant a fair trial to those who deign to criticize the regime,” the spokesperson said.
This article is originally published on lesoir.be
