Young programmer jailed for supporting Russian opposition leader

A Russian court has sentenced a young programmer to seven years in a penal colony for donating $150 to Alexei Navalny's organization, staging a sole picket in his support, and distributing flyers, as reported by the Mediazona portal on Thursday.

The court in Dolgoprudny, a city near Moscow, convicted 29-year-old Alexei Malaryevsky, who had recently returned from the Czech Republic, of participating in an extremist organization and financing terrorism.

In addition to imprisonment, the court ruled to confiscate $1000 and 100,000 rubles (approximately $1372) from his bank accounts.

Alexei Navalny has emerged in recent years as the undeniable leader of the Russian opposition. He is a forthright critic of the Kremlin's policies, a member of the Russian Opposition Coordination Council, leader of the Russia of the Future party, and founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which has notably exposed President Vladimir Putin's assets.

Navalny was detained in January 2021 upon his return from Germany, where he was recovering from a failed poisoning attempt, presumably orchestrated by Russian special services.

On February 16 of this year, it was reported that he had unexpectedly passed away in a penal colony located beyond the Arctic Circle, where he was fulfilling a 19-year sentence for supposed financial crimes. The funeral of Alexei Navalny, who passed away at the age of 47, saw thousands of his supporters gather in Moscow.

Source: Mediazona, PAP