Russia sentences exiled Navalny ally Leonid Volkov to 18 years in prison in absentia

A Russian military court has sentenced Leonid Volkov, the former chairman of Alexey Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, to 18 years in prison in absentia, Mediazona reports.

The court also fined Volkov two million rubles (about $25,300).

The case was submitted in early April and includes 45 separate charges — among them, four counts of large-scale or group fraud, 16 counts of “justifying terrorism” online, and 18 counts of spreading “military disinformation” as part of a group and motivated by political hatred.

“A thaw! They gave me 18 years in high-security prison, just like the prosecutor asked. But they went easy on the fine — only two million rubles. And they didn’t ban me from using the Internet! Well then, I guess I’ll keep using it,” Volkov wrote on Telegram.