Support for Navalny leads to programmer's harsh sentencing in Russia

A Russian court sentenced a young programmer to seven years in a penal colony for donating £120 to Alexei Navalny's organization, holding a solo picket in his support, and distributing flyers – the Mediazona portal reported on Thursday.

The court in the city of Dolgoprudny, near Moscow, found 29-year-old Alexei Malaryevsky, who recently returned from the Czech Republic, guilty of participating in an extremist organization and financing terrorism.

In addition to imprisonment, the court confiscated £800 and approximately £1100 (around 100,000 rubles) from his bank accounts.

In recent years, Alexei Navalny has emerged as the undisputed leader of the Russian opposition. He is a vocal critic of the Kremlin's policies, a member of the Russian Opposition Coordination Council, leader of the Russia of the Future party, and founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation. The foundation has, among other initiatives, exposed President Vladimir Putin's assets.

Navalny was arrested in January 2021 after returning from Germany, where he was treated for an unsuccessful poisoning attempt, likely orchestrated by Russian special services.

On February 16th of this year, authorities reported his sudden death in a penal colony beyond the Arctic Circle, where he was serving a 19-year sentence for alleged financial crimes. The funeral of Alexei Navalny, who passed away at the age of 47, drew thousands of his supporters in Moscow.

Source: Mediazona, PAP