On Tuesday, the Russian state began a new trial of  Alexei Navalny in prison on new charges of fraud and contempt of court. 

Navalny is the primary political opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and says the Kremlin is keeping him in prison to stifle political opposition in Russia. He is currently serving an 18 month sentence stemming from parole violations. 

In the latest charges, Russian authorities allege Navalny stole $4.7 million (€4.1 million) worth of donations to his political organization. He is also accused of insulting a judge. 

If convicted in the new case, Navalny could see his time in prison substantially extended by more than ten years.

A video feed of the prison court showed Navalny in his inmate garb inside the penal colony as he embraced wife Yulia Navalnaya as guards stood beside them.

In court, Navalny said: "I have not yet been found guilty in this case, but they keep me in uniform so a grandmother watching on television will think 'well, he's in prison anyway.'"

"You're going to increase my term indefinitely. What can we do about it?" Navalny said.

What did the United States say about the case?

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was "troubled by dubious new charges" against Navalny and called for his release.

"Navalny and his associates are targeted for their work to shine a light on official corruption," Blinken tweeted.

"Mr. Navalny was already issued a politically motivated sentence last year when he returned to Russia after recovering abroad because Russian government operatives poisoned him with a nerve agent," Blinken said.

"This time, he goes to trial in a penal colony, out of public view. Russian authorities should release Alexei Navalny and end their harassment and prosecution of his supporters."

Russia's crackdown on political opposition 

Navalny's allies, including human rights organizations, oppose the closed-door court, located inside the maximum-security Pokrov facility 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the east of Moscow.

At Pokrov, Navalny said: "My trials are quite strange in terms of the process and the sentences, but here they have crossed every line."

Navalny was arrested and imprisoned in January 2021 after returning from Germany, where he was recovering from nerve agent poisoning, which he claims was carried out on behalf of the Kremlin.

Following the poisoning, he left for treatment in Berlin, returned to Russia and was arrested. Authorities moved to dismantle his organization, declaring his Anti-Corruption Foundation "extremist" and his allies "foreign agents," causing many to go into exile abroad, while others were detained.

What is Germany's role in Navalny's case?

The German government has also placed responsibility for the nerve agent attack on the Russian state.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday said after talks with Putin in Moscow that his position on the Navalny case was "very clear."

"His prosecution is incompatible with the principles of the rule of law and I have expressed this view on many occasions," Scholz said after talks in Moscow with Putin.   

On Twitter, Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh wrote: "Germany stands for peace and justice." 

The previous German Chancellor Angela Merkel used her final official visit to Moscow to press Putin for Navalny's release.

sdi, ar/wmr, jsi (AFP, AP, dpa)