Fadegeva was elected in 2020 to the Tomsk city council with other independent activists in Siberia, a rare success for the Russian opposition at the time
Xenia Fadegeva, an ally of the imprisoned critic of the Kremlin, Alexei Navalny, accused of forming an “extremist organization” was sentenced to nine years in prison today in Tomsk, Siberia, his supporters said, amid an unprecedented crackdown in Russia.
Tomsk’s Sovetsky court “sentenced a 9-year prison sentence to Ksenia Fadegeva,” a former municipal official, her supporters said on Telegram, saying her defense would “definitely appeal this decision.”
The 31-year-old Fadegeva, who was accused of “created an extremist organization” and “participated in an organization that violated the rights of citizens,” and whose trial began in August, was the head of Navalny’s team in the city of Tomsk.
Alexei Navalny was poisoned in Tomsk in 2020 when he visited the city to support his local campaign partners. He became seriously ill and was then flown to Germany for treatment, and was then arrested and sentenced to prison when he returned to Russia.
Fadeeva was elected in 2020 to the Tomsk City Council with other independent activists in Siberia, a rare success for the Russian opposition at the time.
In 2021, Navalny’s campaign organizations were declared “extremist” by the authorities, exposing the opposition’s supporters and associates to the risk of criminal prosecution.
Although several of them have left Russia, Fadegeva refused to be deported and was arrested in December 2021 for forming an “extremist” organization.
In June, the head of opposition Navalny headquarters in the central Russian city of Ufa was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for extremism. Lilia Tsanisheva, a 41-year-old chartered accountant, was the first Navalny associate to be tried for setting up an “extremist organization”. Tsanisheva had left her profession to join Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Fund (FBK) in 2017 and was actively involved in the anti-corruption protest movement in her district.
According to the specialized non-governmental organization OVD-Info, almost 20,000 Russians have been arrested since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine for protesting against Kremlin policies.
Almost all known opposition figures are in prison, such as Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin, or in exile abroad.
Source :Skai
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
