Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny (second left) was sentenced to a further 19 years in prison on Friday after being convicted of starting and supporting an extremist organization. He is already serving a previous nine-year sentence in a Russian penal colony and was sentenced to another two and a half years in 2021.
Navalny issued a statement ahead of the sentencing, stating that the length of the sentence is unimportant as he will also be tried on terrorism charges and could be handed another 10-year jail term. He denounced the Russian government as "corrupt" and said that "such an exemplary huge term" is handed down to intimidate President Vladimir Putin's opposition.