Alexei Navalny was on Tuesday sentenced to nearly three years in prison as a Moscow court jailed the chief foe of the Kremlin in defiance of mass protests and Western condemnation.
Mr Navalny smiled and shrugged as the judge argued he had violated his parole terms on a suspended sentence for embezzlement.
The opposition leader, 44, was accused of missing parole hearings while he was recovering in Germany from poisoning with Novichok nerve agent.
Standing in a cage for defendants, Mr Navalny drew a heart on the glass for his wife.
Supporters, who have taken to the streets in huge numbers over the past two weekends, called for immediate protests in Moscow, where the entire neighbourhood around the court was sealed off by riot police.
Subscribe to The Telegraph on YouTube ► [ Ссылка ]
Get the latest headlines: [ Ссылка ]
Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.
![](https://s2.save4k.ru/pic/5k_szrJPYn8/maxresdefault.jpg)