Kremlin critic Navalny in solitary confinement for seven days

According to his own statements, the imprisoned Kremlin critic Navalny has to be in solitary confinement for seven days. While supporters called for protests on the anniversary of his arrest, Navalny appeared in a video for the first time since his transfer.

Russian Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny says he was put in a tiny prison cell because of a trivial matter. Representatives of the penal camp in the Arctic accused him of refusing to “introduce himself in accordance with protocol,” Navalny said in his Telegram channel.

They ordered him to spend seven days in a punishment cell. That means he is only allowed out into a narrow prison yard at 6:30 a.m. Under normal circumstances, prisoners are allowed out at a time when it is slightly warmer. The temperatures are currently down to minus 32 degrees.

First video from “Polarwolf”

President Vladimir Putin’s biggest political enemy was sentenced to 19 years in prison on January 21, 2021. Russian authorities have accused him of extremism. Navalny sees the allegations against him as politically motivated.

Since December, Navalny has been in the notorious “Polar Wolf” prison in the ice-cold Yamal region of Siberia. The 47-year-old said it was naive to think “that Putin would be content to put me in a barracks in the far north.”

For the first time since his transfer to the Arctic Circle, Navalny was seen in a video. The Kremlin critic then seemed to be in a good mood as he spoke via video link from the IK-3 penal colony to journalists who had gathered in front of the Kovrovsky court in the Vladimir region. The reason for the video link was a hearing on Navalny’s complaints about his prison conditions.

Navalny’s supporters shout Demonstrations on

To mark the upcoming third anniversary of his imprisonment, Navalny’s supporters have called for demonstrations around the world. Putin had Navalny locked behind the Arctic Circle in order to silence him. “Don’t let Putin win,” wrote Navalny’s chief strategist Leonid Volkov, who fled abroad, on his Telegram channel. However, demonstrations are only planned abroad – also because of the strong repression in Russia.

There are said to be particularly many demonstrations in Germany. There are ten venues listed in this country: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt am Main, Stuttgart, Hanover, Saarbrücken, Ludwigshafen and Göttingen.