Navalny’s solitary confinement extended – new trial begins without the press

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was immediately transferred back to solitary confinement after the end of his 15-day solitary confinement. For him, the iron prison principle, which applied even in Soviet times, had been broken, giving a prisoner at least one day of rest after 15 days of solitary confinement.

This was announced by Navalny’s confidants on his Telegram channel. At the same time, it became known that the first session of a new criminal trial against the 46-year-old began on Wednesday in Moscow, closed to the public.

It is Navalny’s 14th solitary confinement since last summer. The conditions in the cramped isolation cell are particularly harsh. Prisoners cannot buy extra food there or receive visits from relatives. Navalny recently reported that his time for writing letters had been shortened and his daily walk in the prison yard had been postponed until morning so that he could not see the sun there.

In a new criminal case, Navalny must answer for extremism. The politician spoke of an “absurd charge”. He is accused of preparing terrorist attacks in prison. “I will wait 30 years in this case and then apparently life in the next one,” he said via video link on Wednesday during an initial technical hearing in which the court will decide how much time the defendant will have to familiarize himself with the case. accusations.

The press was largely excluded from the process. Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Jarmysch said the court tried to prevent the politician from communicating with the media. Internationally, Navalny, who has been officially convicted of fraud, is considered a political prisoner. Human rights activists speak of arbitrariness to silence opponents of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. (aeg/sda/dpa)