Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny sentenced to 2.5 years in prison by Russian court

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was sentenced Tuesday two-and-a-half years in prison by a Russia court that said he had violated the terms of his parole.

The sentence following a heated trial in which Navalny called Russian President Vladimir Putin "Putin the poisoner" and ridiculed claims that he broke the conditions of his parole while he was in a coma following an attempt  last summer to poison him.

Navalny has publicly accused the Russian security forces and Putin himself of ordering the poisoning. 

Tens of thousands of protestors have turned out in support of Navalny over the past two weeks, demanding his release.

The Putin critic was detained by the Russian government upon arrival in Moscow two weeks ago, where he was accused of failing to meet parole terms that were the result of a 2014 suspended sentence for embezzlement charges – a case he claims was politically charged. He has been recovering in Germany for the poisoning attempt.

"We know who did this, Navalny said of Putin. "We know why this is happening. Someone did not want me to take a single step on the territory of Russia, and we know why. The reason is the fear of the man in the bunker."

He also told the judge: "I really hope people will understand this more and more. And this will happen. They can’t arrest the entire country. I’m going to continue to fight. I’m going to continue to fight you. I’m not going to fear you."