Navalny facing new charges - now what?
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is facing new charges. He has now been charged with founding an organisation that infringes on civil rights. The application of the law, which is normally aimed at cults, could add another three years to his prison term. Earlier this year, Navalny was sentenced to several years' imprisonment that would end in 2023 on other charges.
Court trials as a political stage
Echo of Moscow points out that new trials are Navalny's only chance to make his case publicly:
“There are no illusions about Navalny ever being released under Putin. As long as the one is in power, the other will be in prison. The one's term of office has already been written into the constitution. The other's term of imprisonment is being meted out bit by bit, one trial at a time. But Navalny seems, firstly, ready for this and, secondly, even satisfied in a way. Because each new trial offers an opportunity to speak to the people. ... If the state uses the judiciary to settle scores, then in response, Navalny can use the court as a platform for the political struggle.”
An exodus of Kremlin opponents
Tygodnik Powszechny takes a look at Navalny's supporters:
“More and more people from Alexei Navalny's entourage, who face harsh penalties, are opting to emigrate. ... For quite some time now, there has been no room on Russia's political stage for organisations and politicians who do not fit into the political system created by Putin, in which all the strings converge in the dictator's hands. And now it turns out that there is no place for them in Russia either.”