A Russian court has sentenced opposition leader, lawyer, and anti-corruption activist Aleksei Navalny to nine years in prison after finding him guilty of fraud and contempt of court.

On Tuesday, the Lefortovo District Court of Moscow delivered the additional jail sentence at a hearing held in a penal colony in Pokrov, Vladimir Region. 

The court found Mr Navalny guilty of “fraud on an especially large scale” and “contempt of court”. 

Mr Navalny has been charged with siphoning off approximately $25,000 from donations to organisations he founded and of insulting a judge during a previous trial.

Mr Navalny is serving a two and a half-year sentence in a penal colony east of Moscow over parole infringements from a 2014 suspended sentence in a fraud case. It is unclear whether both sentences will run concurrently. 

The court added that Mr Navalny will be moved to a high security prison, stoking fears for his life. 

“Without public protection, Alexey will be face-to-face with those who have already tried to kill him, and nothing will stop them from trying again,” spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh told CBS.

“Therefore, we are now talking not only about Alexey’s freedom, but also about his life,” she added.

Amnesty International responded to the sentence, saying that Mr Navalny’s prosecution was politically motivated.  

“Navalny faces nine years in prison for calling out the Russian elite for corruption and abuse of power. This sentence is predictable but nonetheless shocking.

“The world must not overlook this sentence and its significance amid the horrific human rights violations we have seen as a result of Russian aggression against Ukraine,” Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Marie Struthers said.

Mr Navalny was arrested in January 2021 after he returned from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin.

He gained international attention after organising anti-government demonstrations and running for office to advocate reforms against corruption in Russia, as well as publicly criticising President Vladimir Putin and his government.