Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said Wednesday he could face life in prison on “terrorism” charges while another popular opposition politician went on trial in Russia’s escalating clampdown on dissent. Authorities are taking the crackdown on freedoms in Russia to an unprecedented new level over a year into Moscow’s assault on Ukraine, with independent media shut down and most key opposition figures behind bars or in exile. Navalny’s team says authorities are preparing a major new trial against the star enemy of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “They have brought absurd charges against me, according to which I am facing up to 35 years,” said Navalny, who wore his prison uniform and appeared gaunt but defiant.