Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny, the pet peeve of the Kremlin, said on Wednesday that he risked life imprisonment in "absurd" cases for "extremism" and "terrorism", in the midst of a wave of repression parallel to the offensive in Ukraine.
When Mr. Navalny appeared by videoconference during a hearing in Moscow, another prominent opponent, Yevgeny Roïzman, pleaded not guilty at the opening of his trial for having “discredited” the army in Yekaterinburg (Urals). ).
The superposition of these two cases illustrates the acceleration of repression in Russia, with the multiplication in recent weeks of trials and convictions which have crushed any form of opposition.
During Wednesday's hearing, Mr Navalny blasted "absurd charges" against him, saying he faced up to 35 years in prison in the still-unclear "extremism" charges.
In addition, the opponent, who is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence for “fraud”, said he learned that another file for “terrorism” was being constituted, in which he says he risks prison for life.
Authorities have not commented on this latest case. A judge gave Mr. Navalny until May 5 to examine the nearly 700 pages of the file for “extremism”, which means that a trial date should soon be announced.
Criminal cases involving opponents are often shrouded in secrecy in Russia, with the defendants and the public only receiving information at the last moment and in dribs and drabs.
Mr Navalny has been incarcerated since 2021 after narrowly surviving poisoning he blames on power. His supporters accuse the Kremlin of harassing this activist who made himself known through anti-corruption investigations.
Nearly 1,800 km east of Moscow, in Yekaterinburg, was taking place at the same time the first hearing in a long-awaited trial, that of the charismatic former mayor of this great city in the Urals, Evguéni Roizman.
The 60-year-old former mayor is accused of having "discredited" the Russian army in a video he posted on YouTube in July 2022 criticizing the offensive in Ukraine.
He faces up to five years in prison, under a law passed in Russia in the wake of the launch of the offensive in Ukraine at the end of February 2022.
When the judge asked him if he admitted his guilt in the case, Evguéni Roïzman replied "no", stressing that he would explain himself at greater length after the presentation of the charges.
Mr Roizman, who was mayor of Yekaterinburg between 2013 and 2018, appeared smiling and relaxed, wearing blue jeans and a white T-shirt. The hearing took place in a small room in the Oktyabrsky court in this city.
"What is happening is clear," eluded Mr. Roïzman, speaking to the press after the hearing. The trial is due to resume on May 10.
Yevgeny Roizman is considered one of the last major opposition figures to have remained in Russia and to have, for the moment, escaped a heavy prison sentence.
Indicted in August for "discrediting" the Russian army, he was not remanded in custody but was banned from using the internet and giving interviews.
"I have no illusions, I'm not afraid," he told AFP last July. In Yekaterinburg, he retains great popularity which, according to observers, protected him for a time from the wrath of the Kremlin.
Alexei Mossine, local manager of the NGO Memorial, dissolved in Russia, came to the hearing on Wednesday to support Mr. Roïzman. "They are judging a man who called a spade a spade," Mossine told AFP.
Already tested by previous waves of repression, the Russian opposition has been crushed since the assault in Ukraine. The last great critics of Vladimir Putin emigrated or received heavy sentences.
On Wednesday, the prosecution requested twelve years in prison against Lilia Tchanycheva, a former official of the organization of Alexei Navalny, arrested at the end of 2021 and accused of "extremism".
In a joint protest, several reputable Russian NGOs, including Memorial and OVD-Info, announced on Tuesday that they had seized the Supreme Court to request the cancellation of around twenty administrative convictions for "discrediting" the army. But their approach, essentially symbolic, has almost no chance of succeeding.
26/04/2023 19:02:36 - Moscow (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
