Melekhovo, Russia | A Russian court convicted imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny on charges of extremism and sentenced him to 19 years in prison on Friday, his spokesperson and Russian news agencies reported. Navalny is already serving a nine-year term on a variety of charges that he says were politically motivated.

The new charges related to the activities of Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation and statements by his top associates. It was his fifth criminal conviction and the third and longest prison term handed to him, all of which his supporters see as a deliberate Kremlin strategy to silence its most ardent opponent.

AP