Russian opposition leader in fresh trial at penal colony far from support base on charge of embezzlement
Highlights
- Alexei Navalny is accused of embezzling donations to his FBK anti-corruption organisation.
- He is serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence at the IK-2 penal colony in Vladimir.
- Navalny has denied the charges and calls them politically motivated.
- His family and supporters say the Kremlin is seeking an easy conviction by holding the trial in a prison colony far away from his support base in Moscow.
- He survived a poisoning attempt on his life in 2020 and was arrested after returning to Russia last year.
- The trial began on Tuesday inside the unusual setting three or four hours’ drive east of Moscow, that severely limits the ability of supporters and observers to attend the hearings.