A Russian court ruled on Tuesday to jail Alexei Navalny, an anti-corruption activist and major Kremlin critic, for 3.5 years.
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The decision switches Navalny's suspended jail term for an actual one after his arrest due to supposedly broken parole terms.
Due to a year spent under house arrest, Navalny will have to spend two years and eight months in prison if his appeal is struck down. The court slapped a 500,000 rubles ( $6,590) fine on Navalny as well.
Navalny himself has long dismissed the case, which centers around alleged embezzlement, as nothing but Kremlin's effort to stop his own political activities.
