Opposite the Russian embassy in Berlin, supporters of Alexei Navalny have recreated the prison cell of the opposition politician. It is the “concrete cage” in which Navalny is repeatedly placed for the smallest “transgression”.
The copy is intended to show what solitary confinement means in Russia. On Tuesday the installation is open. It is said to have been started by Navalny’s brother, Oleg Navalny, who was once a political prisoner himself. The cell can be visited on site until February 23.
Navalny has been in a punishment cell ten times, a total of 105 days, says his spokeswoman Kira Jarmysch. She deplores the total dehumanization of the system. The politician has to accept these particularly harsh punishments again and again for messing with guards and claiming rights.
Navalny’s daughter, Darya Navalnaja, regularly comments on social media about the prison conditions her father is going through. Nobody wants to go to prison, but prison in Russia is in a category of its own. Her father has been in a punishment cell measuring two by two meters since mid-August. He sits on an iron chair all day and even his bed is bolted to the wall from 6am to 10pm.
Pure intimidation in isolation
Over the past six months, Navalny had been placed in solitary confinement on several occasions – most recently on December 31. The reason: the politician washed his face at the wrong time. His lawyer, Vadim Kobsev, then announced that Navalny was suffering from severe flu symptoms and was not receiving medical care. As a result, Russian doctors and lawyers demanded in an open letter that Navalny no longer be sent to solitary confinement for alleged reasons.
Navalny faces up to 30 years in prison
Opposition politician Navalny was arrested in January 2021. He had previously flown back to Russia from Germany, where he had recovered from a poison attack. Navalny was later sentenced to nine years in prison for fraud. He denies the allegations. In October last year, he announced that new charges would be brought against him, which could carry a prison sentence of up to 30 years.
Source: Krone
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