A Russian court began trying Monday the opponent Alexei Navalny, pet peeve of the Kremlin, in a new trial for “extremism” where he faces 30 years in prison, a case illustrating the climate of repression in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine.
Since the start of the military campaign in Ukraine in February 2022, most major opponents who have not fled Russia have been imprisoned or prosecuted, in particular for having denounced the conflict.
Mr. Navalny, known for his anti-corruption investigations, is already serving a nine-year prison sentence for “fraud”, a conviction he considers political.
The 47-year-old opponent, who narrowly survived poisoning in 2020 that he blames on the Kremlin and has been imprisoned since January 2021, now faces up to 30 years in prison in this new trial where he is notably accused of creating and funding an “extremist” organization.
The trial opened in the very high security penal colony IK-6 in Melekhovo, 250 km east of Moscow, according to an AFP correspondent. Mr. Navalny was in the courtroom with his lawyers.
“My parents are here, I ask that we let them into the courtroom,” said the opponent at the start of the trial.
Mr. Navalny also says he is the subject of a “terrorism” case in a separate procedure, for which he risks life in prison, but few details are known.
The contours of the accusation in the trial for “extremism” are also blurred, the defense of Mr. Navalny having had only 10 days to examine the 196 volumes of the file.
“Although it is clear, judging by the thickness of the volumes, that I am a methodical and diligent criminal, it is impossible to understand precisely what I am accused of”, recently commented the opponent with irony.
He accuses the Kremlin of wanting to keep him in prison for life to make him pay for his criticisms, which have not weakened despite his imprisonment: through his team, Mr. Navalny continues to publish regularly on social networks to denounce in particular the offensive in Ukraine.
Disciplinary cell
Mr. Navalny “is on trial for his political activity,” one of his spokespersons, Kira Iarmych, told AFP.
According to her, Monday’s hearing should be open to the public, but the judge may change his mind at the last moment in favor of a closed trial.
According to his supporters, Mr. Navalny is subjected to particularly harsh treatment in prison, where he has lost weight and where he is placed in solitary confinement on the slightest pretext.
In a message published in early June, the opponent indicated that he had been sent for the 16e time in a disciplinary cell, where the detainees are alone and in drastic living conditions.
Mr. Navalny also accuses the prison administration of harassing him, for example by giving him a fellow prisoner with a viral infection and giving off a foul odor, or by forcing prisoners to listen to speeches by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Like Mr. Navalny, most of the known opponents who had not gone into exile have been imprisoned in recent years, especially since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
This is the case, for example, of Vladimir Kara-Mourza, sentenced in April to 25 years in prison for “high treason”, or even Ilia Iachine, sentenced in December to eight and a half years in prison for having criticized the offensive. in Ukraine.
The day of his 47e anniversary in early June, Mr. Navalny claimed to keep his spirits up, despite the difficulties of his detention.
“Clearly I’d like to not wake up in this hole, but have breakfast with my family, a kiss on the cheek from my kids, open my presents and say ‘Wow, this is exactly what I was dreaming of. “, he wrote.
But, he added, a “better future” is only possible “if a certain number of people are ready to pay for the right to hold beliefs”.