MOSCOW, September 26. /TASS/. The first court of appeal of general jurisdiction has found lawful the decision to sentence Alexey Navalny to 19 years in a maximum-security penal colony in an extremism case, a TASS correspondent reports from the courtroom.
"The court considered an appeal from the defense of Alexey Navalny and Daniel Kholodny and decided to leave the decision of the first instance court unchanged and the convicts’ appeal unsustained," the judge said. In accordance with the court's ruling, the time Navalny has already spent in custody will be counted in the total sentence at a rate of one day for one day.
The appeal was considered behind closed doors, as the Interior Ministry had warned that Navalny's supporters might stage provocations. The reporters were let in to hear the verdict read out. Navalny participated in the court session by video link from the penal colony.
After the decision of the appellate court Navalny's sentence came into force. Soon he will be transferred to a maximum-security penitentiary in accordance with the court's verdict. For now, he is kept in a maximum-security colony in the village of Melekhovo in the Vladimir Region.
In August 2023, the Moscow City Court found him guilty of financing extremism (part 2 of article 282.3 of the Criminal Code), creation of an extremist group (part 3 of article 282.1 of the Criminal Code) and one call for extremism via the Internet (part 2 of article 280 of the Criminal Code). Navalny’s cumulative prison term (incorporating the previous sentences and time spent in custody) will be 19 years in a maximum-security colony. He was also fined 500,000 rubles and banned from using the Internet for 10 years after his release. The other defendant in the case - former technical director of Navalny's YouTube channel Daniel Kholodny - was found guilty of financing extremist activities using his official position and of participation in an extremist group. He was sentenced to 8 years in prison.
In December 2020, Navalny, who had previously been handed two suspended terms, was put on a wanted list for multiple violations of the conditions of serving his sentence in the Yves Rocher case. He was detained on January 17, 2021 at Sheremetyevo Airport after returning from Germany, where he was undergoing medical treatment. On February 2 of the same year, the Moscow City Court replaced his 3.5-year suspended sentence with a real one in a general-security colony. Later, the Lefortovo court agreed to take into account his convictions in the Yves Rocher case and for defamation of a World War II veteran and sentenced him to 9 years in a maximum-security colony for contempt of court and fraud in raising funds for his election campaign. The court also sentenced him to 20 months of restricted freedom after his release from the colony and a fine of 1.2 million rubles.