New Trial Against Kremlin Critic Alexei Navalny Starts

Navalny is currently serving a two-and-a-half year sentence, but the new charges could see his time behind bars significantly extended.

A new trial against jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny began Tuesday inside the penal colony outside Moscow where he is held, in a case that could see his jail time extended by more than a decade.

A video link showed Navalny in a prison uniform at the hearing, an AFP journalist reported.

The opposition leader, who has spent a year behind bars after surviving a poison attack that he blames on the Kremlin, is accused of fresh fraud charges.

Navalny is currently serving a two-and-a-half year sentence, but the new charges could see his time behind bars significantly extended.