US slams Russia over Navalny trial that could extend jail term by 15 yrs

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday slammed the Russian Government over the trial of Alexei Navalny that could see his jail time extended by up to 15 years.

Navalny, one of Russia's most prominent opposition leaders, on Tuesday, went on trial in his maximum-security prison outside Moscow and faced a new slew of charges that could result in his jail time being extended.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken rebuked the Russian government operatives for poisoning Navalny and urged the authorities to release Navalny and stop the harassment of his supporters.

Taking to Twitter, he said, "I'm troubled by dubious new charges against Aleksey @Navalny. Mr. Navalny was already issued a politically motivated sentence last year when he returned to Russia after recovering abroad because Russian government operatives poisoned him with a nerve agent."

"@Navalny and his associates are targeted for their work to shine a light on official corruption. This time, he goes to trial in a penal colony, out of public view. Russian authorities should release Aleksey Navalny and end their harassment and prosecution of his supporters.", he added.

Notably, Navalny, in August 2020 had been poisoned in a nerve agent attack and was sent to Germany for medical treatment. He was detained by Russian authorities upon his return to the country.

In February 2021, Navalny was ordered to serve two years and eight months in prison for breaching his parole terms while he was hospitalized in Germany for nerve agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin.

The US government assessed that Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) officers used the nerve agent Novichok to poison Navalny, causing him to fall gravely ill while he was travelling back to Moscow after campaigning in Tomsk and Novosibirsk.

Following the assessment, the US imposed additional sanctions on Russia under the US Chemical and Biological Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act) including restrictions on the permanent imports of certain Russian firearms.

(ANI)

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