Alexei Navalny, a critic of the Kremlin, claims he has been charged with further crimes.
Navalny, announced on social media today that he had learned of fresh criminal accusations against him.
The 47 years old activist, has already served more than 30 years in a prison colony on crimes he disputes, including extremism. He has also spent a significant portion of the previous two years in solitary confinement for other purported misdemeanors.
He stated he was now being accused under Article 214 of the penal code, which deals with vandalism, in remarks released through his associates.
“I have no idea what article 214 is, and there’s nowhere to look. You’ll know before I do,” he said on his Telegram channel.
“They really do initiate a new criminal case against me every three months. Rarely does an inmate confined to a solitary cell for over a year have such a vibrant social and political existence.”
Among Russia’s fractured opposition, Navalny is by far the most well-known figure. His admirers see him as a Nelson Mandela-like figure who will one day be released from prison to take over as leader of the nation.
As part of a crackdown on dissent that has gotten worse since President Vladimir Putin dispatched his armed forces into Ukraine early last year in what Moscow refers to as a “special military operation,” his political movement has been proscribed and its leading officials have been imprisoned or have gone abroad.
In August, Navalny was found guilty on fresh counts connected to his purported radical activities. He was already serving an 11-1/2 year term, and now he would serve an additional 19 years. He denies all of the accusations, viewing them as politically driven and intended to stifle his criticism of the Kremlin.
Five weeks after being detained on suspicion of being members of a “extremist group,” three of his attorneys were added to a financial watchdog’s list of “terrorists and extremists” last month.
Admired worldwide, Navalny returned to Russia willingly in 2021 after receiving treatment in Germany for what Western laboratory tests revealed to be a nearly fatal attempt to kill him with a nerve toxin in Siberia.
When he arrived, he was arrested right away. The Kremlin denied attempting to assassinate him.
