Russia
Trial in the penal camp instead of in court: Kremlin opponent Navalny faces another 15 years in prison
Alexei Navalny in a Moscow court in February 2021
© DPA
The new trial against Alexei Navalny will take place in the penal camp and not in Moscow. The Kremlin critic accused the judiciary of arbitrary staging.
The new trial against Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny is not taking place in a Moscow court, but in the penal camp where the Kremlin critic is already being held. Navalny therefore spoke of an arbitrary staging at the start of the process. “My trials are pretty strange in terms of process and verdicts, but they’ve crossed every line here,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s opponent said in the improvised courtroom on Tuesday. There he also met his wife Julia Navalnaja again, the couple hugged and was able to use the breaks for themselves.
This time, Navalny has to answer for alleged misappropriation of funds for his anti-corruption foundation, which has since been banned, and for insulting a judge. According to his team, Navalny faces 15 years in prison.
Court rejected transfer to Moscow
The court refused to move the trial to the Russian capital Moscow, which is around 100 kilometers away. The 45-year-old said the client of the procedure was afraid that everyone would then be able to see that the accusation was fabricated. However, several journalists found themselves in the penal camp in Pokrov in the Vladimir region, as reported by the Mediazona portal.
Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Jarmysch said that Putin was taking revenge with the procedure “after he failed to kill him.” Navalny barely survived an assassination attempt with the chemical warfare agent Novichok in August 2020. The President denied involvement. The EU had imposed sanctions on Russia for the attack.
Navalny returned to Russia a year ago after recovering in Germany, where Merkel had visited him at the Charité in Berlin. He was arrested on January 17, 2021 at Moscow Airport for allegedly violating conditions in another criminal case during his recovery.
Olaf Scholz again criticizes the conviction of Navalny
At his meeting with Putin, Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized the condemnation of the Kremlin critic and the ban on the human rights organization Memorial. His stance on Navalny was “very clear,” Scholz said at a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday: “His conviction is not compatible with the rule of law.”
Germany is “concerned” that in Russia “the spaces for civil society are becoming more difficult,” stressed the Chancellor. This applies in particular with regard to those partners “with whom we have worked together for a long time and in an important way”.