Russian court hands Navalny ally long prison sentence

Since the invasion of Ukraine, nearly all of the Kremlin’s critics have been jailed or gone into exile.

A Russian court has handed a nine-and-a-half-year prison sentence to an ally of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny.

Ksenia Fadeyeva, a lawyer and lawmaker in the Siberian city of Tomsk, was sent to prison for running an “extremist organisation”, her legal team said. She is the latest Russian opposition figure to be detained during the war in Ukraine.

“The ‘judge’ Khudyakov has ordered a nine-year sentence against Ksenia Fadeyeva,” her supporters said on the social media site Telegram, adding that the sentence will be appealed.

Russian authorities designated Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation “extremist” in 2021, effectively banning it and exposing its members to the risk of prosecution. Several have been hit with harsh penalties.

Fadeyeva headed a local chapter of the organisation. In 2020, she was elected to the Tomsk municipal council in what was seen as a notable victory for opponents of President Vladimir Putin’s government, which has largely sought to bar challengers from elections.