‘COMPLETELY FABRICATED’

‘No Words’: Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Sentenced to 2.5 Years in Prison

“My main offense to him is that he will go down in history as Putin the Poisoner,” Navalny said at his Tuesday sentencing.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalany was sentenced back to prison Tuesday, as a judge ruled he had violated terms of a 2014 suspended sentence, a charge that he has derided as “completely fabricated.” Navalny is a longtime critic of Russian President Vladmir Putin. Last year, Navalny fell into a coma after being poisoned with a nerve agent, for which he has blamed Putin. While Putin has denied those claims, the Russian government has refused to open an investigation into the poisoning. Navalny reiterated those claims on Tuesday, telling a judge that Putin “can pretend he is this big politician, the world leader, but now my main offense to him is that he will go down in history as Putin the Poisoner.” Navalny’s team released a statement after the ruling, reading in Russian, “no words.” Since Navalny’s jailing last month, nationwide protests have emerged calling on Putin to release him.