Crackdown on Putin critics: Navalny’s aide imprisoned for 'participating in an extremist' organisation

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's aide has been imprisoned for nine years on "extremism" charges. On Monday, Navalny's organisation announced that Vadim Ostanin has been jailed in the latest case sidelining critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Who is Vadim Ostanin?

Reuters reports that Ostanin was the head of opposition leader Navalny's office in Barnaul. 

As per the jailed opposition leader's team, he carried out "legal political work". 

Ostanin was detained in December 2021 and Navalny's team alleges that he was pressured by investigators to confess to being guilty. However, he refused. 

Also read | Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny faces decades in prison for 'rehabilitating Nazi ideology' and other crimes

AFP reports that he has now been sentenced in the Siberian city for "participating in an extremist" organisation. As Russia intensified its crackdown on people and organisations in dissent of the Russian President, Alexei Navalny's organisations were banned.

Ostanin, who is a trained lawyer, is now awaiting a verdict on the new "extremist" charges. If found guilty, he could see his jail term extended by another 20 years.

Russia's crackdown on Putin critics

Ever since the Russia-Ukraine war began with Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement of a "special military operation" on February 24th, 2022, authorities in Moscow have clamped down heavily on any signs of dissent.

Taking the crackdown on freedom to a new level, as per AFP, Russia has shut down independent media and in 2021, as the crackdown intensified, Navalny's organisations were banned.

Also read | Russian drones destroyed Odesa’s grain depot: Ukraine

In a similar charge, earlier this month, Lilia Chanysheva, another ally of the jailed Kremlin critic, was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison. Chanysheva is the former coordinator of Navalny's headquarters in Ufa in central Russia.

This new case against the opposition leader comes amidst an escalated crackdown in Moscow, where over a year into the country's offensive in Ukraine, numerous key opposition figures, like Alexei Navalny, have been put behind bars or are in exile.

Rough treatment

Many jailed figures, including Navalny, have alleged that they're being kept in deplorable conditions. Ostanin too has described his detention in Barnaul as unsanitary, saying that there were insects and rodents like rats in his cell. 

As per Navalny's team, Ostanin has lost some 15 kilogrammes (33 pounds) while in custody. He has allegedly also suffered from back and neck pain, and was denied access to medication for his ailments.
 

(With inputs from agencies)

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