The Russian authorities did not want to give the imprisoned opposition leader the opportunity to present his own views to the public, assesses Russia correspondent Heikki Heiskanen.
MELEHOVO, VLADIMIR REGION On Monday morning, forty journalists and cameramen were waiting in front of penal colony number 6 in the bright sunshine.
Trial opposition politician Alexei Navalny against was exceptionally held in a penitentiary, where he is serving the sentence he received earlier for a parole violation.
According to Navalny and his supporters, both the previous sentence and the new trial are political in nature.
The reporters were allowed to go through a strict security check to the colony area. The contents of the bags were unloaded on the table in front of the guard and the dogs sniffed the bags in two batches.
Journalists did not have access to the session hall itself. Journalists were directed to a small brick house where they could watch the session remotely.
Initially, it was planned to place Navalny’s parents in the same room as the journalists to watch the session Lyudmila and Anatolybut a separate space was arranged for them.
Navalnyi would have wanted his parents in the courtroom himself, but the judge did not agree to that either.
Due to the weak sound reproduction, it was impossible to understand anything about the courtroom speeches, especially the judge’s speeches remained incomprehensible. The judge and prosecutor were left out of the picture.
An exasperated Navalny performed powerfully
The trial is a continuation of the fact that Navalny’s organizations have been declared extremist organizations in Russia.
In addition to Navalny, his allies are also on trial Daniel Holodnyitechnical director of the Navalnyi Live YouTube channel.
Earlier in Ufa, a court convicted an ally of Navalny Lilija Chanysheva 7.5 years in prison for founding an extremist organization. This gives an indication of how harsh a sentence Navalnyi can expect.
In addition to founding an extremist organization, Navalny is accused of, among other things, luring minors into dangerous activities and even defending Nazism.
At the start of the hearing, Navalnyi and his lawyers demanded a judge Andrei Suvorov to step down from leading the trial.
They considered it unjustified that the judge had ordered the hearing to be held in a penal colony instead of Moscow.
According to Navalny, holding the trial in prison reflects a special attitude towards him.
– Not a day has gone by when I haven’t been reminded that I am just like everyone else. If I am like everyone else, do justice to me as to everyone else, Navalnyi said.
The opposition leader looked emaciated on screen, but he performed powerfully and spoke with an audible voice.
The trial was ordered to be secret
At the beginning of the session, there was also an argument about the publicity of the trial. Navalnyi and Holodnyi demand a public trial.
However, it didn’t work out. The transmission of the session to the journalists’ space was suddenly interrupted. After waiting for almost two hours, the press secretary of the court arrived to say that the trial had been ordered to be secret.
The reason was vaguely the safety of someone participating in the trial – it remained unclear whether it was witnesses, interested parties or members of the court.
The vagueness of the reasoning left the impression that the Russian authorities did not want to give Navalny even a podium, which would have been an open trial.
In previous trials, Navalnyi and other jailed opposition activists have been able to present their own objections to the judiciary and the political system.
– No shame, no conscience, no honor, Navalnyi’s father, Anatoli Navalnyi, told reporters as he got into the car in front of the penal colony.
He did not specify who he meant. In Russia, judges are addressed with the phrase “Your Honor”.