Alexei Navalny has been found guilty on charges of fraud and has been sentenced to nine years in prison, according to an AFP and Reuters report.
Navalny is accused of allegedly embezzling donations to the Anti-Corruption Foundation.
The opposition leader, who survived a poisoning attempt in August 2020, is already serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence in person for separate embezzlement charges.
The Kremlin denies any involvement in the poisoning incident.
Mr. Navalny denounced the terms of his trial and, referring to Russias invasion of Ukraine, saying ‘to fight this war is everyones duty.’
This new conviction may keep President Vladimir Putins top critic, while some fear much worse is in store for Mr. Navalny. Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmyshit said ‘it was not just his freedom that was at stake but his life as well, because his accusers had already tried to kill him in Siberia.’
Yarmyshit added that while the attention of the world was focused on Ukraine, ‘another monstrous crime was being committed inside of Russia.’
The trial has been dismissed as a sham by Amnesty International and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has condemned it as incompatible with the rule of law.
Police detained both of his lawyers immediately after the hearing.