Judge of the Supreme Court of Russia Oleg Nefedov rejected two claims by Alexei Navalny against the Ministry of Justice to invalidate several points of the internal regulations of correctional institutions. This was reported by a Mediazona correspondent.
Navalny challenged the right to have no more than one copy of religious literature in the punishment cell, PKT and EPKT. In addition, the politician appealed the rules due to which prisoners are given 15 minutes to eat, which is why they burn themselves with hot food.
“[Father] came a second time and said: “I give you the Law of God.” This book was immediately taken from me. Because the new PVR made it so that there can be only one book, including religious content, in a punishment cell,” Navalny explained in court.
“Do you want to have the Koran in your cell? This means that you will have nothing except the Koran. You won't even have a newspaper if you demand the Koran. <…> Our prison system has found a new enemy. This enemy is called Muslims. And it is precisely for this reason that some restrictions are constantly being invented that prevent people from studying Islam,” the politician said. According to him, taking rosaries into the cell was also prohibited.
Navalny noted that, according to the temporary residence permit, food intake is “up to 30 minutes,” which allows colony staff to interpret the rules differently. In some cases, they give prisoners just ten minutes to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner.
The oppositionist said that some jailers interpret the rules in their favor: “There is an expression that is very suitable: “A monkey with a grenade.” I don't mean to say that every correctional officer is a monkey. But some are evil people. Evil people and fascists, crazy people.” Nefedov reprimanded him and called the politician’s words an insult.
During the break, when the judge left to make a decision, Navalny was allowed to speak briefly with his mother, but the broadcast was turned off for the time being.
The day before, the politician was included in a hearing in the Kovrovsky City Court of the Vladimir Region from a special regime colony for the first time since the beginning of December in Yamal. The court considered the claim against IK-6, where Navalny had been kept since June 2022. During this time, he was sent to a punishment cell 23 times.
From December 6, 2023, Navalny was no longer allowed to attend court hearings from the colony, and lawyers and relatives were not told about his whereabouts for about 20 days. On December 25, it was possible to find out that Navalny was transferred to IK-3 in the village of Kharp in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Immediately after the end of quarantine, the politician was again placed in a punishment cell.
Navalny’s first trial from the Far North. Online