Russia Putin's archenemy Nawalny: emaciated - but unbroken

Russia Putin's archenemy Nawalny: emaciated - but unbroken

New process against the detained Russian oppositional Alexej Nawalny

In a high-security criminal camp in Melechowo, a new trial against the detained Russian oppositional Alexej Nawalny has started for "extremism" allegations. Nawalny threatens up to 30 more years in prison. The 47-year-old Nawalny, who is considered one of the best-known opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has already been sentenced to nine years in prison and is currently in the Melechowo criminal camp. Now he was also sentenced to a further 19 years in prison in the penalty camp.

The life of Alexej Nawalny in the penalty camp

Nawalny lives under strict detention conditions that are still tightened compared to a normal penalty camp. He receives fewer visits, letters and packages and his daily stays outdoors were shortened. The opposition is currently in isolation for the 17th time, where it cannot receive visits. Nawalny is accommodated in a fenced wooden barrack, as he reports himself. Due to the lowest offense against the warehouse regulations, he always ends up in isolation, such as because of washing the face at the wrong time. Nawalny's daughter Dasha describes her father's conditions of detention as extremely cramped and stressful.

New prison sentence for Nawalny

The judgment of Friday shows that Nawalny has to live under these conditions for many more years. The public prosecutor's office in Russia had applied for another 20 years of prison. Negotiations were carried out over seven charges, including the establishment and financing of an extremist organization and the trivialization of National Socialism. The extremist organization means the fund founded by Nawalny to combat corruption, which has published a number of evidence of corruption at the top political level. The fund has now been classified as extremist.

The nerve poison attack on Nawalny in 2020

Alexej Nawalny gained worldwide awareness when he was poisoned with the Novichok nerve stirrup in the summer of 2020 on a trip to Siberia. He lost consciousness during the flight from Tomsk to Moscow and could only be saved by an emergency landing in Omsk. Nawalny was first treated in a hospital in Omsk and later moved to the Berlin Charité at the pressure of his family. There the doctors fought for his life for days before leaving the hospital after 32 days. Nawalny accuses the Russian domestic intelligence agency FSB to be behind the poisoning, while the Kremlin rejects the allegations.

The political struggle of Nawalny

Nawalny's main topic is corruption in Russia. He has made a lot of enemies and has conflict with oligarchs and powerful politicians and business representatives. From a politically point of view, his career was changeable, he worked in the opposition party in Jabloko for a few years, but had to leave it on the basis of nationalist statements. A video became famous in which Nawalny equalized Caucasian terrorists with "cockroaches", from which he distances himself today. In 2011 he founded the Fund for Combating Corruption and achieved respectable 27 percent of the vote in 2013 in the Moscow mayor election. Nawalny's team recently published a video entitled "A Palace for Putin", which was viewed over 100 million times. It is a meticulous research on corruption and grievances, but Nawalny cannot prove that the castle on the Black Sea is actually "Putin's palace".

The worrying situation in the criminal camp

On video recordings you can see how emaciated Nawalny is now. His body is weakened by the poison attack, which makes it vulnerable to diseases. He suffers from crises and already had to use medical help for violent stomach pain. The prison management is said to have not passed on medication that was sent by Nawalny's mother. In an interview with the US news magazine "Time", Nawalny's daughter Dasha is concerned about her father's prison conditions and demands his release. Nawalny is not only seen as a determined and charismatic leader, but also as a funny, caring and incredible father.