The main opponent of the Kremlin, Alexeï Navalny, announced this Wednesday, September 27 that he had learned that he would be transferred to a cell with even stricter detention conditions, the day after the rejection of his appeal for a sentence of 19 years in prison.
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Imprisoned since his return to Russia at the beginning of 2021 after convalescence due to poisoning, Alexei Navalny is currently detained in the IK-6 penal colony in Melekhovo, 250 kilometers east of Moscow, where he is regularly sent to a disciplinary cell.
This time, the opponent must be incarcerated in a so-called “EPKT” cell, the isolation cell with the strictest conditions within the Russian prison system. “ Yesterday, immediately after the appeal in the case concerning me, they took me to the commission and announced that due to my incorrigibility I will be transferred to the EPKT for 12 months », announced the opponent via a message on his social networks, as he has done since his arrest in January 2021 through his lawyers. “ One year of EPKT is the harshest possible sentence in penal colonies “, he explained, humorously assuring that he felt “ like a tired rock star on the verge of depression, who has reached the peak of charts and who has nothing left to aspire to “.
Read alsoRussia: opponent Alexeï Navalny sentenced to an additional 19 years in prison
It was not immediately clear whether these 12 months in the disciplinary cell will delay Alexei Navalny’s transfer to a new colony with even stricter conditions, as required by his new conviction. According to this judgment, the opponent must in fact serve his new sentence in one of the “special regime” colonies, i.e. establishments in the Russian prison system usually reserved for life prisoners and the most dangerous criminals.
From his cell, the 47-year-old anti-corruption activist has continued in recent months to denounce the Russian offensive in Ukraine and called on the Russians to continue to “resist” the Kremlin.
(With AFP)