An ally of jailed Russian foe Alexei Navalny, accused of “founding an extremist organization,” was sentenced to nine years in prison in Tomsk, Siberia, on Friday, her supporters said, amid unprecedented repression in Russia.
The Sovetsky Court in Tomsk has “imposed 9 years in prison” on “Ksenia Fadeyeva,” a former municipal deputy, her supporters said on Telegram, assuring that her defense “will of course appeal this decision.”
Ksenia Fadeïeva, 31, whose trial opened in August, was accused of “creating an extremist organization” and “participating in an organization that violates the rights of citizens” and she had Mr. Navalny's team in the city of Tomsk directed.
Alexei Navalny was poisoned in Tomsk in 2020 during a campaign visit to his local staff. When he became seriously ill, he was transferred to Germany for treatment, then arrested and sentenced to prison upon his return to Russia.
Ms. Fadeyeva was elected to the Tomsk city council in 2020 along with other independent activists in Siberia, a rare success for the Russian opposition at the time.
In 2021, Mr. Navalny's campaign teams were labeled “extremist” by authorities, putting the opponent's supporters and collaborators at risk of criminal prosecution.
Although many of them left Russia, Ksenia Fadeïeva refused to go into exile and was arrested in December 2021 for organizing an “extremist” group.
In June, the head of the enemy's headquarters in the central Russian city of Ufa was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for “extremism.”
Lilia Tchanycheva, an auditor, was the first of Mr. Navalny's associates to be put on trial for setting up an “extremist organization.”
She left her job to join Mr. Navalny's Anti-Corruption Fund (FBK) in 2017 and took an active part in the anti-corruption protest movement in her region.
According to the specialized NGO OVD-Info, almost 20,000 Russians have been arrested in Ukraine since the start of the conflict for protesting against Kremlin policies.
Almost all of the major opponents are behind bars, like Vladimir Kara-Mourza and Ilya Yashin, or in exile abroad.