Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny given more jail time on extremism charges

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is facing an even longer stint in jail after being sentenced to 19 years in prison on extremism charges, Russian media report, a fresh blow to a fierce critic of Russia's President Putin that comes amid an intensifying crackdown on dissent.

Navalny was accused of creating an extremist community, financing extremist activities and a number of other crimes.

He was found guilty on Friday at the high-security penal colony in which he has been detained.

Navalny is already serving sentences totaling 11-and-a-half years in a maximum security facility on fraud and other charges that he says were trumped up.

He and his supporters claim that his arrest and imprisonment were politically motivated, intended to silence his criticism of Putin.

The trial ended in June and took place behind closed doors at the IK-6 penal colony at Melekhovo, around 155 miles east of Moscow, where Navalny is being held.

The Kremlin critic said Friday that he is "serving a life sentence," according to a statement on Telegram, and urged fellow Russians not to be intimidated.