Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny stated that Russian investigators have initiated a “absurd” terrorism case against him, which may result in an additional 30 years in prison.
Navalny, the most popular adversary of President Vladimir Putin, is serving a combined sentence of 11-1/2 years in prison for fraud and contempt of court, charges he claims were fabricated to silence him.
He appeared in a Moscow court via video link on Wednesday, April 26 as part of an extremist investigation, according to Reuters reporters at the court.
“They have made absurd accusations, according to which I face 30 years in prison,” he said in a statement published on social media by his supporters.
“I insist that the attempt to close the process is an attempt not just to prevent me from getting acquainted with the case, but it is also an attempt to make sure that no one finds out about it,” he said.
Navalny said it was absurd to argue he had committed terrorism while in prison. He said the case would be tried by a military court.
Navalny returned to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he had been treated for what was an attempt to poison him with a nerve agent in Siberia.
Navalny says he was poisoned in Siberia in August 2020 and accused Russian agents of being behind the assassination attempt. The Kremlin denied trying to kill him.
This April Russian investigators formally linked Navalny supporters to the murder of Vladlen Tatarsky, a popular military blogger and supporter of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, who was killed by a bomb in St Petersburg. Navalny allies have denied any connection to the killing.
Separately on Wednesday, Russian investigators said that 11 people had been put on an “international wanted list” in a case linked to Navalny, state-owned news agency TASS reported.