Jailed-Putin critic Navalny says he’s facing new criminal case for ‘promoting terrorism’
Global News
Alexei Navalny has long been a thorn in Putin's side, campaigning against corruption in Russia in witty and slickly produced videos that drew huge audiences on social media.
Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny said on Thursday that authorities had opened a new criminal case against him for promoting terrorism and extremism, potentially more than doubling his sentence.
Navalny, the most prominent domestic critic of President Vladimir Putin, is already serving prison terms totalling 11-and-a-half years for fraud, contempt of court and parole violations, all of which he rejects as trumped-up charges intended to silence him.
“I am a genius of the underworld. Professor Moriarty is no match for me,” he said sarcastically in a Twitter post, comparing himself to the nemesis of Sherlock Holmes.
“You all thought I had been isolated in prison for two years, but it turns out I was actively committing crimes. Luckily, the Investigative Committee was vigilant and didn’t miss a thing.”
Navalny said his lawyers estimated he could now face a cumulative sentence of around 30 years. There was no immediate official confirmation of the new case from the Investigative Committee.
Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said the case related to a YouTube channel called “Popular Politics” that was launched by his allies after he had already been in prison for a year.
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