Alexei Navalny sentenced to over 2 years in prison by Russian court

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to over two years in prison on Tuesday by a court that said he violated the 2014 suspended sentence while in Germany for treatment. Navalny was arrested soon after returning from Germany on January 17, which prompted widespread protests across Russia demanding his release. A Russian court on Tuesday ruled against Navalny and pronounced that he serve the remaining months of his suspended sentence in prison. 

Read: More Navalny Supporters Detained Near Moscow Court

Protesters gathered again in the streets of Moscow on Tuesday to protest against the sentencing, following which over 1,000 people were detained by law enforcement authorities. This comes after police detained over 4,000 people in connection to the protests in Moscow on Sunday, which saw thousands of people gather to oppose Navalny's detention. On January 23, similar protests took place across Russia, which saw over 3,500 people being detained by the police. 

Read: Kremlin Foe Navalny Faces Court That May Jail Him For Years

In 2014, Navalny was given a suspended sentence of three and a half years, of which he has already served 10 months under house arrest. Navalny was found guilty of financial fraud by a Russian court. When Navalny was in Germany for treatment, the Kremlin critic was warned by a Russian court that he return as soon as possible because he is allegedly in violation of his probation. After his arrest earlier this month, the international community condemned the action and called for his immediate release. 

Read: Russian Prosecutors Seek Three-and-a-half-year Jail Term For Alexei Navalny

Navalny's poisoning

Last year in August, Navalny fell ill on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow following which he was admitted to a hospital. Navalny's aides alleged that he had been poisoned and demanded his transfer from Russia to Germany for treatment. Russian doctors ruled out poisoning but when Navalny reached Berlin, German doctors concluded that he was poisoned using Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent. 

Navalny recovered following weeks in a medically-induced coma. Navalny continued his criticism of the Russian state from Germany and claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind his poisoning. 

Read: Russia Detains 4,000 Protesters For Storming Streets Of Moscow Over Navalny's Arrest

(Image Credit: AP)