Aleksei A. Navalny, the imprisoned Russian opposition leader, said on Wednesday that Russian authorities had brought new “absurd” terrorism charges against him that could lead to life in prison.
Mr. Navalny’s comments, which were posted on his team’s Twitter accountcame as he appeared via video link during a court hearing on separate charges of extremism widely regarded as politically motivated.
Mr. Navalny, who started out as an anti-corruption activist before becoming one of the Kremlin’s most prominent critics, is already serving a sentence in a penal colony for fraud and contempt of court. Since returning to Russia after recovering in Germany from a poisoning attempt the West blamed on the Kremlin, he has repeatedly faced fresh charges from Russian authorities.
In comments from his supporters on social media from the courtroom, Mr Navalny said an investigator informed him on Tuesday that a terrorism case had been brought against him that would be heard in a separate trial by a military court. Russian authorities have not confirmed the allegations.
Mr Navalny said he faces up to 30 years for the extremism case and up to life in prison for the terrorism case. He said authorities claimed he had committed acts of terrorism while in prison. He did not go into details of the latest allegation, but called the allegation “absurd.”
Wednesday’s hearing focused on how much time Mr Navalny may have to familiarize himself with the extremism case against him. That case is related to his anti-corruption foundation, which was declared an “extremist organization” by authorities and effectively banned in 2021.
The judge gave him until May 5 Mr Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh said, and ruled that the trial would take place behind closed doors. Ms Yarmysh said the short time Mr Navalny was given to read his file meant that the trial would start soon, probably before the end of May.
“I insist that the attempt to close the trial is not an attempt to simply limit my learning of the case,” said Mr Navalny, according to to his supporters. “It’s an effort to make sure no one finds out.”
Mr. Navalny, a lawyer, exposed widespread corruption among the Russian elite and around President Vladimir V. Putin, creating a rival political organization to that of the Kremlin, with regional divisions and supporters across the country.
The Kremlin has been pressuring its supporters for years, but the situation escalated in 2020, when Mr. Navalny was poisoned in what he said was an attempt to assassinate him by the Kremlin. Russian authorities denied involvement.
In January 2021, Mr Navalny returned to Moscow after spending months in Germany recovering from the poisoning.
Mr Navalny and his supporters have said his health is deteriorating and have accused prison doctors in a penal colony east of Moscow of providing him with substandard care. He says he has repeatedly been placed in “punishment cells” for trivial reasons.
A photo from the courtroom used by supporters of Mr. Navalny was posted on Twitter, showed him on the video link in a prison uniform and looking thin and tired.
