Russia has stifled dissent further still and in the midst of a war. The country’s best-known opposition leader, Aleksei Navalny, already languishing behind bars, has now been sentenced to nine years in prison on fraud charges, a move widely seen as a way for the Kremlin to more tightly control the war’s narrative.
Navalny’s sentence was announced as Russia amended an already draconian censorship law to make “discrediting” the activities abroad of all government bodies a criminal offence, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Navalny has been urging Russians to protest the invasion of Ukraine through letters from jail that his lawyers post on social media.
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On the ground, Russia has made little progress in its effort to encircle Kiev, Ukraine’s capital. Ukrainian officials said they had raised their flag over Makariv, a town about 40 miles from the capital, where control has gone back and forth between Russian forces and Ukrainians. The US claims to have assessed that Russia’s “combat power” in Ukraine has fallen below 90 per cent of its original force for the first time, reflecting the losses Russian troops have suffered. While Moscow is determined to wipe out the remaining pockets of resistance, the Ukrainians aren’t giving up easily.
Mr Navalny’s sentence was announced on the 27th day of what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in pro-Western Ukraine, where thousands have been killed and millions displaced. Immediately after Tuesday’s verdict, Mr Navalny, countered the Kremlin, saying Russian leader Vladimir Putin was afraid of the truth. “Putin is afraid of the truth. I have always said this. Fighting censorship, relaying the truth to the people of Russia always remained our priority,” he said in a post on Instagram after the sentence.
Tongue firmly in cheek, he reacted to the extension of his jail term on fresh charges of embezzlement and contempt of court ~ “Space flight is being extended. My ship has been caught in a time loop.” He has urged Russians to “resist these war criminals”. He was tried inside his penal colony in the town of Pokrov, outside Moscow. The judge found Mr Navalny guilty of the less severe charge of contempt of court. He will serve the new sentence in a “strict regime” colony, and he will have to deal with much harsher conditions.
According to his defence team, the new sentence replaces the one he is currently serving. This would mean that he will not be freed for another eight years, instead of after a year and a half. Last year he was sentenced for violating parole for old fraud charges while recovering from a poison attack with the Novichok nerve agent, an attack that he blames on the Kremlin.
The tightening of screws on Mr Navalny coincides with a seemingly relentless war and underscores the fact that notwithstanding any reverses Russia may have faced, Mr Putin is determined to have his way
