MOSCOW: Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was due on Tuesday to enchantment a nine-year jail sentence he was handed in March on fees that he and his allies say are politically motivated.
His listening to comes as Russian authorities search to silence remaining authorities critics and Moscow pushes on with its navy marketing campaign in neighbouring Ukraine, with hundreds killed and a few 10 million displaced.
A vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Navalny in late March had his jail time prolonged to 9 years after he was discovered responsible of embezzlement and contempt of court docket.
He's already serving two-and-a-half years in a jail some 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of Moscow for violating parole on previous fraud fees.
On Tuesday, he'll enchantment the extension of his jail time period, becoming a member of the listening to at a Moscow court docket by way of video hyperlink from his jail colony.
If his new sentence comes into power, the 45-year-old opposition politician shall be transferred to a strict-regime penal colony, which can place him in a lot harsher situations.
The brand new sentence will change the previous one -- that he was handed in February final 12 months -- which means Navalny will stay behind bars for an additional eight years.
As a part of the brand new fees, investigators accused Navalny of stealing for private use a number of million dollars' value of donations that got to his political organisations.
Navalny rose to prominence as an anti-corruption blogger and, earlier than his imprisonment, mobilised anti-government protests throughout Russia.
In 2018, he campaigned as a presidential candidate however was ultimately barred from operating within the election that noticed Putin safe a fourth time period in energy.
In his absence, Navalny's workforce continues publishing investigations into the wealth of Russia's elites which have garnered thousands and thousands of views on YouTube.
In 2020, Navalny narrowly survived a poisoning assault with Novichok, a Soviet-designed military-grade nerve agent. Regardless of accusations from Navalny, the Kremlin denied any involvement.
He was arrested on his return from rehabilitation in Germany final 12 months, sparking widespread condemnation overseas, in addition to sanctions from Western capitals.
After his arrest, Navalny's political organisations throughout the nation have been declared "extremist" and shut down, whereas key aides have fled Russia.
Navalny's key allies have since fled the nation, a number of of them are needed by Russian authorities on legal fees.
Russia has just lately ramped up strain on impartial media and non-governmental organisations, declaring many "overseas brokers", whereas others have stopped working for concern of prosecution.
In an effort to additional management the knowledge obtainable to its home viewers, authorities have blocked entry to the favored social networks Instagram, Fb and Twitter and brought authorized motion in opposition to tech big Meta, accusing it of spreading "calls to kill" Russians.