US slams Russia’s ‘outlandish’ prison term sentence for Navalny

The United States slammed Russia for sentencing Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny to another nine years in prison, calling the move “outlandish” and demanding that he be released immediately. 

“We condemn Russian authorities’ politically-motivated conviction and sentencing of opposition leader Aleksey Navalny on additional spurious charges to nine more years in a high security prison,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This outlandish prison term is a continuation of the Kremlin’s years-long assault on Navalny and on his movement for government transparency and accountability. Of course, Navalny’s true crime in the eyes of the Kremlin is his work as an anti-corruption activist and opposition politician, for which he and his associates have been branded ‘extremists’ by Russian authorities.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Navalny was handed down a nine-year sentence after being convicted of contempt of court and fraud for allegedly making insults during a previous trial toward a judge and for embezzling money, The Associated Press reported.

Navalny claims the charges were politically motivated and is seeking to appeal them, the news wire noted. 

An outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, he was poisoned with a nerve agent in 2020 and at the time was taken to Germany for treatment. Navalny accused the Russian government of poisoning him, though officials have denied the allegations.

Price said that Navalny’s sentencing was indicative of a larger trend of the Russian government “systematically” ignoring the “constitutional rights” of the Russian public. He cited the Kremlin’s recent crackdowns on wartime news coverage as well as the use of social media in the country. 

“Navalny’s case is sadly one of many the Kremlin continues to brazenly pursue as it systematically ignores the constitutional rights of the Russian people and its international commitments to respect and ensure human rights and fundamental freedoms,” Price said.

“Now more than ever, the people of Russia must be able to hear voices of courage and integrity that tell the truth about the Kremlin’s wrongdoing at home and abroad.”

The development comes in the midst of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, which has dragged on into a fourth week. The international community has watched the situation carefully doling out aid to the former Soviet state and monitoring for potential attacks against bordering NATO countries.