On Friday, a judge in Moscow sentenced Alexei Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner and leading critic of President Vladimir Putin, to two months of house arrest for violating a travel ban when he left city limits to attend a protest rally. That's not such a big deal — Navalny is already serving a five-year suspended sentence for what are widely viewed as trumped-up embezzlement charges. But the judge also ordered Navalny to keep off the internet and phone, effectively silencing the country's leading opposition figure.
"Their only goal is to stop my political activities," Navalny told the courtroom. Navalny was recently introduced to a new audience of Americans through his appearance on The Daily Show.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Nashville dining: Far more than barbecue and hot chickenFeature A modern approach to fine-dining, a daily-changing menu, and more
-
Music Reviews: Coco Jones and Viagra BoysFeature "Why Not More?" and "Viagr Aboys"
-
Visa wants to let AI make credit card purchases for youThe Explainer The program will allow you to set a budget and let AI learn from your shopping preferences
-
Suspect charged after 11 die in Vancouver car attackSpeed Read Kai-Ji Adam Lo drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival
-
Kenya arrests alleged ant smugglersspeed read Two young Belgians have been charged for attempting to smuggle ants out of the country to exotic pet buyers
-
Judge ends Eric Adams case, Trump leverageSpeed Read Federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams were dismissed, as requested by Trump's Justice Department
-
Texas arrests midwife on felony abortion chargesSpeed Read Maria Margarita Rojas and an employee at one of her clinics are the first to be criminally charged under Texas' near-total abortion ban
-
South Carolina to execute prisoner by firing squadspeed read Death row inmate Brad Sigmon prefers the squad over the electric chair or lethal injection, his lawyer said
-
Mexico extradites 29 cartel figures amid US tariff threatSpeed Read The extradited suspects include Rafael Caro Quintero, long sought after killing a US narcotics agent
-
Leonard Peltier released from prisonSpeed Read The Native American activist convicted of killing two FBI agents had his life sentence commuted by former President Joe Biden
-
Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 yearsSpeed Read The former New Jersey senator was convicted on federal bribery and corruption charges last year
