Mar 22, 2022:

A Russian court on Tuesday sentenced jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to nine years in prison on fraud charges, a decision that would keep President Vladimir Putin’s main rival out of active politics for years to come.

Navalny, who was also found guilty of contempt of court, is already serving a two-and-a-half year sentence at a prison camp east of Moscow for parole violations related to charges he says were trumped up to thwart his political ambitions.

A prominent Kremlin critic, Navalny was convicted on fraud charges by Moscow’s Lefortovo court over allegations that he stole from his Anti-Corruption Foundation. Tuesday’s sentence was handed down at the Pokrov penal colony by a visiting session of the Lefortovo court.

Navalny, who the court also fined 1.2 million roubles ($11,535), has dismissed the latest criminal case against him as politically motivated and pleaded not guilty.

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