MOSCOW (NEWSnet/AP) — An associate of imprisoned Russia opposition leader Alexei Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison on Friday.

Ksenia Fadeyeva, a regional legislator who headed a local branch of Navalny's organization in Tomsk, Siberia, was convicted on charges of organizing an extremist group. Her lawyers said they plan to appeal the verdict, arguing that Fadeyeva had ended her involvement with Navalny's organization before authorities labeled it extremist in 2021.

Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, hailed Fadeyeva as “honest and brave,” saying on X that those who fabricated the criminal case against her will eventually face punishment.

Navalny, the most prominent foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism. Earlier this month, he went missing for several weeks until his lawyers announced he has been moved from a prison in central Russia to a remote Arctic prison colony.

Navalny has been behind bars in Russia since January 2021.

A Moscow court outlawed Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption and about 40 regional offices as extremist in June 2021, shutting down his political network and forcing many of his close associates and team members to leave Russia. Those who stayed have faced prosecution.

Fadeyeva's case is the latest in a string of convictions of regional activists linked to Navalny’s work.

Navalny associate Leonid Volkov has said that he prodded Fadeyeva to leave Russia amid the crackdown, but she refused, citing her obligations to voters. She has been in custody since her arrest in November.

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