Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is facing a Moscow court for a hearing in a terrorism case, paving the way for another trial that could keep him in prison for another 30 years.

He called the new case, which was opened in April, ‘absurd’.

The Moscow City Court initially scheduled May 31 for a preliminary hearing to discuss technical issues related to the trial of the Kremlin’s critic but moved it to June 6 without giving a reason.

The court rejected a request by Navalny’s lawyers for more time to examine voluminous case materials.

The new charges against Navalny relate to the activities of his anti-corruption foundation and statements by his top associates.

His allies said the charges retroactively criminalize all the activities of Navalny’s foundation since its creation in 2011.

Navalny’s associate, Ivan Zhdanov, has said that investigators were revising the charges to link them to a bombing that killed Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky at a St. Petersburg cafe last month.

The authorities described Darya Trepova, a 26-year-old St. Petersburg resident who was seen on video presenting Tatarsky with a statuette
moments before the blast, as an active supporter of Navalny.

They also accused Navalny’s allies of making repeated calls for subversive activities in Russia.

Aljazeera.