The US sharply rebuffed Russia on Friday after a number one Kremlin critic was sentenced to extra jail time on “unfounded charges of so-called ‘extremism.'”
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated the newest court docket ruling towards Alexey Navalny represents “an unjust conclusion to an unjust trial.”
“For years, the Kremlin has attempted to silence Navalny and prevent his calls for transparency and accountability from reaching the Russian people. By conducting this latest trial in secret and limiting his lawyers’ access to purported evidence, Russian authorities illustrated yet again both the baselessness of their case and the lack of due process afforded to those who dare to criticize the regime,” he stated in an announcement.
“The United States strongly condemns Russia’s continued detention of Navalny, Vladimir Kara-Murza, and the more than 500 other designated political prisoners Russia holds. We will continue to follow their cases closely and advocate for the release of all unjustly detained persons,” he added.
Navalny was arrested in January 2021 after a hospital keep in Germany, the place he was being handled for poisoning. Western international locations and Navalny himself blamed Russia for the poisoning, a declare the Kremlin denies.
He was later handed a two-and-a-half-year jail sentence for violating the phrases of his probation in a earlier politically motivated case.
He was subsequently sentenced to 9 years in jail in March 2022 after being convicted on fraud expenses in a trial derided by him and the West as politically-motivated.
On Friday, he was sentenced to an extra 19 years behind bars, Russian media reported.
Source: www.anews.com.tr
