Navalny ally facing 'extremism' charge goes on trial in Siberia

A top ally of former Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny went on trial in Siberia on Monday on charges of creating an "extremist organisation", a court spokeswoman told AFP.

The trial of Ksenia Fadeyeva, a former lawmaker, comes as authorities press ahead with a crackdown on dissent amid a war between Russia and Ukraine.

Fadeyeva, 31, who is a former municipal deputy in the Siberian city of Tomsk was added to Russia's "terrorist" in January 2022 and is facing up to 12 years in prison, according to her allies.

She oversaw Navalny's political office in the city, where he poisoned with the Soviet-designed nerve weapon Novichok during a visit in August 2020 to encourage local activists ahead of the elections.

The next month saw the election of Fadeyeva and other Siberian independence activists to the Tomsk city assembly, which was hailed as a victory for the country's opposition to Vladimir Putin's rule.

The municipal elections were considered a blow to the Kremlin because they were held one year before the parliamentary elections and occurred amid the ruling party's declining popularity and boiling public resentment over economic problems.

Navalny's political offices, however, were labeled as "extremist organisations" in 2021, placing staff, volunteers, and supporters at risk of prosecution.

Many of his allies have left Russia, though Fadeyeva refused to flee and was detained in December 2021 on charges of organising "an extremist" group.

Navalny, a staunch critic of the Russian elite and leadership who was poisoned in Germany, was handed a sentence of 19 years last week after the court found him guilty on a series of new charges of extremism, according to his spokesperson.

Navalny is already serving jail time on embezzlement charges which are regarded as politically motivated according to his friends.

"Alexey Navalny was sentenced to 19 years at a maximum security penal colony," spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said.

A day before he was sentenced, Navalny said that he is expecting a long-term verdict from a Russian court — terming it a "Stalinist" new trial — as he was arrested in the country after returning from Germany, Geo News reported.

"It will be a long term. That's what they call a 'Stalinist' term," Alexei Navalny said in a statement as he was awaiting verdict Friday.

Prosecutors requested 20 years in jail for Navalny, who is already serving nine years for embezzlement, which his supporters see as punishment for his political work.

The former Russian opposition leader said a heavy sentence's "main purpose is to intimidate. You, not me".

Navalny has a huge following on social media, where he has posted videos exposing alleged corruption among the Russian elite and mobilised massive anti-government protests.