Opinion: Alexei Navalny Fights For Freedom Of Expression in Putin's Russia

Alexei Navalny wore a dark sweatshirt and a wry smile as he stood in a glass box in a Moscow courtroom this week and was sentenced to 2 years and 8 months in a prison colony for failing to keep a parole appointment.

"This is how it works," Navalny said from behind the glass. "Imprison one person to frighten millions."

He couldn't keep that appointment last Dec. 29 because he was in Berlin, recovering from being poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok — as certified by doctors and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Navalny claims the attack was ordered by the Kremlin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the accusation, saying if agents had wanted to assassinate Alexei Navalny, "they probably would have finished the job."