An associate of Alexei Navalny says the day Putin is removed from power is the day the Russian opposition leader is free

An associate of Navalny told CNN that he will be released from prison when Putin is removed from power.

Last month, Navalny was sentenced to 13 years in prison after being found guilty of fraud and contempt of court.

The head of the investigative department for Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation said in an interview that the sentence is arbitrary.

I don't think those numbers mean anything. He can be sentenced to between nine and 99 years. Pevchikh said it is meaningless.

Ahead of the premiere of the CNN film, her comments were made.

Navalny was poisoned with Novichok in 2020. He went back to Russia in 2021 after receiving medical treatment in Germany.

The Kremlin accused Navalny of swindling money raised by his foundation. He was accused of insulting a judge in a previous trial, but he and his allies believe that the charges were politically motivated to crush dissent in Russia.

The case of Navalny is political. Pevchikh said that Navalny's sentence is essentially a life sentence. Whose life will it be?

She said she was pretty sure that Navalny would stay in prison until Putin leaves the office. Our goal is to make sure that this day comes as quickly as possible and that Alexey is out of prison as soon as possible.