MELEKHOVO, Russia, Aug 4, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - A Russian court on Friday sentenced jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny to 19 additional years behind bars on extremism charges, his spokesperson said.

"Alexey Navalny was sentenced to 19 years at a maximum security penal colony," spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said. An AFP journalist watching the court session in a press centre at his prison said Navalny smiled as the judge read the verdict and hugged another defendant before the transmission was cut.