Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is facing decades in jail as a new trial on charges of “extremism” began on Monday.
The fresh charges against the prominent Kremlin critic comes as Moscow ramps up a crackdown on dissent amid its invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Navalny is currently serving a nine-year term on embezzlement charges, which his supporters say are politically motivated.
The latest trial began on Monday in the penal colony where he is being held 150 miles east of Moscow.
The 47-year-old was first arrested in 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was recovering from a poison attack he blamed on the Kremlin.
His term could be extended by another 30 years, said his team, who said Mr Navalny had suffered major weight loss in prison.
The opposition leader, who has exposed official corruption and organised major anti-Kremlin protests, said a prosecutor told him that he would also face a separate military court trial on terrorism charges that could potentially carry a life sentence.
In a tweet posted on his account by his supporters last month, Mr Navalny responded with irony to the new charges.
“Well, Alexei, you’re in some real trouble now ... The Prosecutor General’s Office has officially provided me with 3,828 pages describing all the crimes I’ve committed while already imprisoned,” he said.
He said he had not been allowed to read the material to find out what exactly he was accused of because he was once again in solitary confinement and allowed only a mug and one book.
He has been charged with financing extremist activity, publicly inciting extremist activities and “rehabilitating the Nazi ideology”, among other counts.
In a ruling earlier this month, the European Court of Human Rights found that Russia had “notably” failed to investigate Mr Navalny’s 2020 poisoning.
The court said Russia had failed “to explore the allegations of a possible political motive for the attempted murder, as well as possible involvement of state agents.”
However, Russia does not recognise the court’s rulings.
