Navalny Faces Extended Prison Sentence as Kremlin Targets Opposition

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to an additional 19 years in prison on extremism-related charges, making it his fifth criminal conviction in recent years. The trial took place behind closed doors in a maximum-security prison where Navalny is already serving a 9-year sentence. The court found him guilty of retroactively financing and inciting "extremist activities" through his now-defunct Anti-Corruption Foundation, as well as "rehabilitating Nazi ideology." Navalny has denied the charges and condemned the trial as political retribution. The U.S. has called for his immediate release and criticized the lack of due process in the trial. Despite his imprisonment, Navalny remains an influential voice in Russian politics, using social media to criticize the war in Ukraine and advocate for resistance against the government.