Putin Critic Alexei Navalny Has 19 Years Added to His Jail Term

 Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny appears on a screen via video link as he shakes hands with his lawyer Vadim Kobzev before an external hearing of the Moscow City Court in the criminal case against Navalny on numerous charges, including the creation of an extremist organization, at the IK-6 penal colony in Melekhovo in the Vladimir region, Russia, August 4, 2023. (Reuters)
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny appears on a screen via video link as he shakes hands with his lawyer Vadim Kobzev before an external hearing of the Moscow City Court in the criminal case against Navalny on numerous charges, including the creation of an extremist organization, at the IK-6 penal colony in Melekhovo in the Vladimir region, Russia, August 4, 2023. (Reuters)
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Putin Critic Alexei Navalny Has 19 Years Added to His Jail Term

 Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny appears on a screen via video link as he shakes hands with his lawyer Vadim Kobzev before an external hearing of the Moscow City Court in the criminal case against Navalny on numerous charges, including the creation of an extremist organization, at the IK-6 penal colony in Melekhovo in the Vladimir region, Russia, August 4, 2023. (Reuters)
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny appears on a screen via video link as he shakes hands with his lawyer Vadim Kobzev before an external hearing of the Moscow City Court in the criminal case against Navalny on numerous charges, including the creation of an extremist organization, at the IK-6 penal colony in Melekhovo in the Vladimir region, Russia, August 4, 2023. (Reuters)

Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny had an extra 19 years added to his jail term on Friday in a criminal case which he and his supporters said was trumped up to keep him behind bars and out of politics for even longer.

Navalny, 47, President Vladimir Putin's fiercest domestic critic, is already serving sentences totaling 11-1/2 years on fraud and other charges that he says are also bogus. His political movement has been outlawed and declared "extremist".

A court at the IK-6 penal colony in Melekhovo, about 235 km (145 miles) east of Moscow where he is serving his sentences, was trying him on Friday on six separate criminal charges, including inciting and financing extremist activity and creating an extremist organization.

The audio feed from the court was so poor that it was practically impossible to make out what the judge was saying.

Navalny's team said the judge had added 19 years to his sentences as a result of the new charges. State prosecutors had asked the court to hand him another 20 years in a penal colony.

Dressed in his dark prison uniform and flanked by his lawyers, Navalny smiled at times as he listened to the judge.

In a message posted on social media a day earlier Navalny had predicted he would get a long jail term, but had said it didn't really matter because he was also threatened with separate terrorism charges that could bring another decade.

Navalny had said the purpose of giving him extra jail time was to frighten Russians, but had urged them not to let that happen and to think hard about how best to resist what he called the "villains and thieves in the Kremlin".

The charges relate to his role in his now defunct movement inside Russia, which the authorities said had been trying to foment a revolution by seeking to destabilize the socio-political situation.



Le Pen Makes New Threat to Withdraw Support for French Government

French far-right leader and member of parliament Marine Le Pen, President of the French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National - RN) party parliamentary group, talks to journalists as she leaves after a meeting with the French Prime Minister to discuss the 2025 budget bill (PLF) at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, France, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
French far-right leader and member of parliament Marine Le Pen, President of the French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National - RN) party parliamentary group, talks to journalists as she leaves after a meeting with the French Prime Minister to discuss the 2025 budget bill (PLF) at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, France, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
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Le Pen Makes New Threat to Withdraw Support for French Government

French far-right leader and member of parliament Marine Le Pen, President of the French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National - RN) party parliamentary group, talks to journalists as she leaves after a meeting with the French Prime Minister to discuss the 2025 budget bill (PLF) at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, France, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
French far-right leader and member of parliament Marine Le Pen, President of the French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National - RN) party parliamentary group, talks to journalists as she leaves after a meeting with the French Prime Minister to discuss the 2025 budget bill (PLF) at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, France, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen issued a new threat on Monday to withdraw support for France's coalition government in a no-confidence vote, after talks with Prime Minister Michel Barnier failed to satisfy her party's demands for budget concessions.

Le Pen said nothing had changed following the discussions, and that she was not optimistic a compromise on the belt-tightening 2025 budget bill could be reached.

"Nothing appears less certain," she told reporters.

The Senate was set to debate on Monday following its rejection by lawmakers in the National Assembly after revisions by lawmakers in the lower house.

Opposition parties are threatening to topple Barnier's government as it seeks approval for the budget, and his fragile coalition relies on her National Rally (RN) party for its survival.

The government is seeking to squeeze 60 billion euros ($62.85 billion) in savings through tax increases and spending cuts to reduce the deficit to 5% of economic output next year from over 6% this year.

National Rally has said it will support the efforts to oust the government if certain demands are not met. Le Pen said last week that the RN opposes increasing the tax burden on households, entrepreneurs or pensioners, and that so far these demands were not reflected in the budget bill.

LEGAL PROBLEMS

Le Pen's own political future is also under threat, with prosecutors seeking a mandatory five-year ban from politics for her alleged role in an embezzlement scheme. Le Pen denies the allegations.

Some analysts have suggested her legal problems may accelerate her plans to bring down the government,

Barnier's struggles to secure approval for the budget have fueled speculation he will invoke article 49.3 of the constitution, which allows the text to be adopted without a vote. Such a move could trigger a no-confidence motion against the government.

"It is true that we find very little quality in this budget and very little time for the government to try to increase its qualities and reduce its defects," Le Pen said.

Barnier was also due to meet other political leaders on Monday to seek a compromise on the budget bill. A final vote on the overall budget is scheduled for Dec. 12.