Navalny urges supporters not to be ‘idle’ after sentencing

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny called for his followers not to be “idle” after he was sentenced to an additional nine years in prison on Tuesday.

“I am very grateful to everyone for their support,” Navalny wrote in a Twitter thread. “The best support for me and other political prisoners is not sympathy and kind words, but actions. Any activity against the deceitful and thievish Putin’s regime. Any opposition to these war criminals.”

“In 2013, after hearing my first verdict, I wrote this and now I will repeat it: don’t be idle,” he later added. “This toad sitting on an oil pipe will not overthrow itself. I hug and love everyone!”

This comes as Navalny was sentenced to nine years in a maximum security prison and issued an $11,500 fine following his conviction on charges of fraud and contempt of court earlier in the day.

Navalny was previously sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, which he is currently serving, for allegedly breaking his parole conditions. He has said that his charges were an attempt to keep him from gaining political power, according to NBC News.

In his Tuesday tweets, he also referenced some of his favorite films and television shows, comparing them to his experience.

“9 years. Well, as the characters of my favorite TV series ‘The Wire’ used to say: ‘You only do two days. That’s the day you go in and the day you come out.’ I even had a T-shirt with this slogan, but the prison authorities confiscated it, considering the print extremist,” he wrote in a tweet.