A new trial of imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny began Tuesday in the penal colony outside Moscow, where he is being held, in a case that could extend his jail term by more than ten years.
A video link showed Navalny in a prison uniform during the hearing, an AFP journalist reported.
The opposition leader, who spent a year behind bars after surviving a poison attack he blames on the Kremlin, faces new charges of fraud.
Navalny is currently serving a two and a half year sentence, but the new charges could significantly extend his time behind bars.
The Moscow court hearing of Lefortovsky is taking place in the maximum security prison where he is being held in Pokrov, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Moscow.
The video link showed his wife Yuliya Navalnaya in the room where the trial is being heard, a day after she requested access to the proceedings.
Amnesty International described it as a “mock trial attended by prison guards rather than the media”.
The new fraud case against Navalny was launched in December 2020, while the 45-year-old was recovering in Germany after narrowly surviving nerve poisoning.
Investigators accuse Navalny of stealing for personal use more than $4.7 million in donations given to his political organizations. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The process kicks off as talks over Ukraine intensify between Russia and the West, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the latest Western leader to come to Moscow for talks with Putin.
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