Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Russia opposition leader Navalny describes prison conditions

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has described tight controls at his prison, saying they include hourly checks at night

Via AP news wire
Monday 15 March 2021 16:24 GMT
Russia Navalny
Russia Navalny (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny described tight controls at his prison in a letter posted Monday, saying they include hourly checks during the night.

Navalny's note posted on his Instagram page confirmed for the first time that he arrived at a prison colony in Pokrov in the Vladimir region, 85 kilometers (53 miles) east of Moscow which stands out among Russian penitentiary facilities for its particularly strict regime.

Navalny described the prison, IK-2, as a “friendly concentration camp.” He said that he hasn't seen “even a hint at violence” there but faced overwhelming controls that he compared to George Orwell's “Nineteen Eighty-Four."

Navalny, 44, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most vociferous foe, was arrested on Jan. 17 upon returning from Germany where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusation.

Last month, Navalny was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for violating the terms of his probation while convalescing in Germany. The sentence stems from a 2014 embezzlement conviction that Navalny has rejected as fabricated — and which the European Сourt of Human Rights has ruled to be unlawful.

Navalny, whom prison authorities marked as a flight risk, said he's subject to particularly close oversight that includes a guard waking him up every hour at night and filming him to report that he's in place.

“I calmly go back to sleep with a thought that there are people who remember about me and will never lose me,” he said with a touch of his trademark sardonic humor, adding that the prison is rigged with surveillance cameras.

“I must acknowledge that the Russian prison system has managed to surprise me,” Navalny wrote. “I couldn't imagine that it was possible to set up a real concentration camp within 100 kilometers from Moscow."

He said that the prison regimen is rigorously observed and prisoners meticulously follow the rules.

“While I haven't seen any violence or even a hint at violence, the strained posture of inmates who stand at attention and fear turning their heads make me easily believe numerous accounts of people beaten nearly to death with wooden hammers here at IK-2 Pokrov quite recently,” he said. “But the methods have changed, and I can't even recall a place where everyone speaks so politely. I call my new home ‘our friendly concentration camp.’"

His Instagram post had a picture of Navalny with a shaven head, adding that it feels “amazing” to touch.

Navalny didn’t explain how he managed to hand over the letter that was posted.

Navalny’s arrest triggered a wave of protests that drew tens of thousands to the streets across Russia. Authorities have detained about 11,000 people, many of whom were fined or given jail terms ranging from seven to 15 days.

Russian officials have dismissed demands from the United States and the European Union to free Navalny and stop the crackdown on his supporters.

Moscow also has rebuffed the European Court of Human Rights' ruling ordering the Russian government to release him, dismissing the demand as unlawful and “inadmissible” meddling in Russia’s home affairs.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in