“As long as we do not know where Alexei is, he is at his mercy [Russian government] a system that has already tried to kill him. “ Navalny was initially imprisoned in January 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was recovering from an almost fatal poisoning in Siberia. The court then decided to commute his sentence with suspension to prison. He was tried on separate charges this spring and sentenced to nine years behind bars, which means he will be transferred to a high-security prison. Mr. Navalny and his associates describe his prosecution as a personal vendetta against Vladimir Putin. Navalny, who emerged as Putin’s enemy a decade ago, sent a message to his supporters two weeks ago, joking that Putin was protecting him from a possible nuclear war by announcing new charges against him. The details of the new criminal case are unknown, but the politician said he faces charges of setting up an “extremist group” that could keep him behind bars for even longer. Navalny used his court appearances this spring to sharply criticize Putin, calling the invasion of Ukraine “criminal.”
