Navalny returned to solitary confinement

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who was transferred last month to a prison in a polar region in the north of the country, has revealed that he has been placed back in solitary confinement for a week.

Russian authorities moved Navalny to a new prison at the end of December after a lengthy process during which news about him was cut off from his close associates, raising concerns among Western parties about his safety.

On Tuesday, Navalny announced on social media that he received a punishment of "seven days of isolation (in a cell)" because he did not identify himself correctly.

He mentioned that the measure was taken immediately "upon my release from quarantine," without specifying the date, adding, "The assumption that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would be satisfied just by sending me to a hut in the northern region and that I would not be subjected to torture in isolation, was not only a cowardly assumption but also naive."

According to the court ruling against Navalny, he is to serve his sentence in a "special regime" prison, a category of institutions that witness the harshest detention conditions and are usually designated for the most dangerous convicts and those sentenced to life imprisonment.

Navalny posted a picture of the small courtyard where he can walk early in the bitterly cold weather. He sarcastically spoke of the "wonderful fresh air blowing in the courtyard despite the concrete wall," noting that the temperatures have not dropped below -32 degrees Celsius yet.

Close associates of Navalny affirm that the Russian authorities seek to isolate him further months before the presidential elections scheduled for March 2024, in which Vladimir Putin's victory seems certain.

AFP