His appeal against a nine-year prison sentence for alleged fraud has failed. This is accompanied by a transfer of the Kremlin critic Navalny from the penal camp to an even stricter prison. He is now allowed to meet his family even less frequently. Above all, he railed against Russia's "stupid war" via video link.
The Russian opposition politician Alexej Navalny is being transferred from his previous prison camp to an even stricter prison for serious criminals. The Moscow City Court dismissed the appeal against a judgment from a previous instance, as reported by the Interfax news agency. This means a nine-year prison sentence for alleged fraud, among other things. As a result, Navalny is set to be relocated soon.
In Russian prisons for criminals, inmates are less likely to meet relatives, receive parcels and letters, or go outside into the fresh air. Navalny's team fears that the 45-year-old will be imprisoned much further away from Moscow in the future.
Navalny took part in the appeal process via video link. Among other things, he said: "Of course I don't want to be stuck in a cell. I would rather see my children grow up." He called on people "not to be afraid". Being afraid is a "crime against our future," he added. But he also criticized Russia's war against Ukraine: "You are suffering a historic defeat in the stupid war you started. It has no aim and no point."
The opposition politician barely survived a poison attack in the summer of 2020, from which he recovered for months in Germany. He is considered one of President Vladimir Putin's harshest critics. Navalny, who has been in a camp about 100 kilometers from the Russian capital since the beginning of last year, was convicted in another controversial trial in March.
Since his imprisonment, the Russian authorities have cracked down on critical voices and independent media - especially since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine. Navalny's most important organizations were banned. The Kremlin critic himself and some of his supporters were put on the authorities' list of "terrorists and extremists" in January.
