Navalnyi is serving a prison sentence of more than 20 years in the IK-3 penitentiary, located in the village of Harpi in northwestern Siberia.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appeared in good spirits Wednesday as he appeared in a court hearing televised from a prison in the town of Harp.
During the hearing, Navalnyi joked about the arctic weather and asked if a big party with karaoke was organized in the IK-6 prison after Navalnyi’s departure.
– The conditions here are better than in the IK-6 prison in Vladimir, Navalnyi said.
– There is only one problem – and I don’t know which court I could complain to about this – the weather here is bad.
Navalny also answered some questions posed by journalists. He was asked, for example, if he had received letters.
– I am not for the time being. I am quite aloof, Navalnyi replied.
IK-3, located in Harpi, is one of the northernmost and remotest penal colonies in Russia.
Prison conditions are considered harsh. It is very difficult to get to the prison, and there is no functioning postal service, Navalny’s assistants have said.
Navalny was missing for weeks
Wednesday’s hearing dealt with Navalny’s appeal against his detention in solitary confinement at the IK-6 penitentiary in October.
According to the court document seen by Mediazona, Navalny’s complaint was about the prison guard denying Navany writing equipment while he was in solitary confinement.
The judge dismissed Navlanyi’s appeal.
Navalny made his first video appearance since being transferred last month from IK-6 to a remote prison in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets region
Before that, Navalnyi was missing for almost three weeks.
On December 6, Navalny’s lawyers were prevented from visiting the opposition politician at the IK-6 prison in Vladimir, where he had been held since June last year.
On December 11, a Russian court reported that Navalny “has left the Vladimir region.” At the time, the court did not say where Navalnyi was transferred.
Navalny is serving a long prison sentence on extremism charges. Navalny’s sentence was extended to 19 years in the summer and the court ordered him to be transferred to a “special arrangements” prison.
The judgments of the opposition politician are widely considered to be political.