Imprisonment
Imprisonment related to Yves Rocher case
On 17 January 2021 Navalny returned to Russia by plane from Germany, arriving at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow after the flight was diverted from Vnukovo Airport. At passport control, he was detained. The Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) confirmed his detention and said that he would remain in custody until the court hearing. Prior to his return, the FSIN had said that Navalny might face jail time upon his arrival in Moscow for violating the terms of his probation by leaving Russia, saying it would be “obliged” to detain him once he returned;[30] in 2014, Navalny received a suspended sentence in the Yves Rocher case, which he called politically motivated and in 2017, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Navalny was unfairly convicted. Amnesty International declared Navalny to be a prisoner of conscience and called on the Russian authorities to release him. A court decision on 18 January ordered the detention of Navalny until 15 February for violating his parole. A makeshift court was set up in the police station where Navalny was being held. Another hearing would later be held to determine whether his suspended sentence should be replaced with a jail term. Navalny described the procedure as “ultimate lawlessness” and called on his supporters to take to the streets. Human Rights Centre Memorial recognized Navalny as a political prisoner. The next day, while in jail, an investigation by Navalny and the FBK was published accusing President Vladimir Putin of corruption. The investigation and his arrest led to mass protests across Russia beginning on 23 January 2021.
A Moscow court on 2 February 2021 replaced Navalny’s three and a half-year suspended sentence with a prison sentence, minus the amount of time he spent under house arrest, meaning he would spend over two and half years in a corrective labor colony. The verdict was condemned by the governments of the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and others as well as the EU. Immediately after the verdict was announced, protests in a number of Russian cities were held and met with a harsh police crackdown. Navalny later returned to court for a trial on slander charges, where he was accused of defaming a World War II veteran who took part in a promotional video backing the constitutional amendments last year. The case was launched in June 2020 after Navalny called those who took part in the video “corrupt lackeys” and “traitors”. Navalny called the case politically motivated and accused authorities of using the case to smear his reputation. Although the charge is punishable by up to two years in prison if proven, his lawyer said that Navalny cannot face a custodial sentence because the law was changed to make it a jailable offence after the alleged crime had taken place.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on 16 February 2021 that the Russian government should release Navalny immediately, with the court saying that the resolution was made in “regard to the nature and extent of risk to the applicant’s life”. Navalny’s lawyers had applied to the court for an “interim measure” for his release on 20 January 2021 after his detention. However Russian officials indicated that they would not comply with the decision. Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko called the measure a “flagrant intervention in the operation of a judicial system of a sovereign state” as well as “unreasonable and unlawful”, claiming that it did not “contain any reference to any fact or any norm of the law, which would have allowed the court to take this decision”. In December 2020, a series of laws were also passed and signed that gave the constitution precedence over rulings made by international bodies as well international treaties. A few days later, a Moscow court rejected Navalny’s appeal and upheld his prison sentence, however it reduced his sentence by six weeks after deciding to count his time under house arrest as part of his time served. Another court convicted Navalny on slander charges against the World War II veteran, fining him 850,000 rubles ($11,500).
In February 2021 Amnesty International stripped Navalny of “prisoner of conscience” status, due to lobbying about videos and pro-nationalist statements he made in the past that allegedly constitute hate speech. The designation was reinstated in May 2021: Amnesty international stated that the withdrawal of the “prisoner of conscience” designation had been used as a pretext by the Government of the Russian Federation to further violate Navalny’s human rights.
A resolution by the ECHR called for his release.
Navalny was reported on 28 February 2021 to have recently arrived at the Pokrov correctional colony in Vladimir Oblast, a prison where Dmitry Demushkin and Konstantin Kotov were also jailed.[302][303][304] In early March 2021, the European Union and United States imposed sanctions on senior Russian officials in response to Navalny’s poisoning and imprisonment.
In March 2021 Navalny in a formal complaint accused authorities of torture by depriving him of sleep, where authorities consider him a flight risk. Navalny told lawyers that guards wake him up eight times a night announcing to a camera that he is in his prison cell. A lawyer of Navalny said that he is suffering from health problems, including a loss of sensation in his spine and legs, and that prison authorities denied Navalny’s requests for a civilian physician, claiming his health was “satisfactory”. On 31 March 2021, Navalny announced a hunger strike to demand proper medical treatment. On 6 April 2021, six doctors, including Navalny’s personal physician, Anastasia Vasilyeva, and two CNN correspondents, were arrested outside the prison when they attempted to visit Navalny whose health significantly deteriorated. On 7 April 2021, Navalny’s attorneys claimed he had suffered two spinal disc herniations and had lost feeling in his hands, prompting criticism from the U.S. government. Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International accused Vladimir Putin of slowly killing Alexei Navalny through torture and inhumane treatment in prison. He also complained that he was not allowed to read newspapers or have any books including a copy of the Quran that he planned to study.
On 17 April 2021, it was reported that Navalny was in immediate need of medical attention. Navalny’s personal doctor Anastasia Vasilyeva and three other doctors, including cardiologist Yaroslav Ashikhmin, asked prison officials to grant them immediate access, stating on social media that “our patient can die any minute”, due to an increased risk of a fatal cardiac arrest or kidney failure “at any moment”. Test results obtained by Navalny’s lawyers showed heightened levels of potassium in the blood, which can bring on cardiac arrest, and sharply elevated creatinine levels, indicating impaired kidneys. Navalny’s results showed blood potassium levels of 7.1 mmol; blood potassium levels higher than 6.0 mmol (millimoles) per liter usually require immediate treatment. Later that night, an open letter, addressed to Putin and open for Russian citizens to sign, was signed and published by 11 politicians representing several regional parliaments, demanding an independent doctor be allowed to visit Navalny, and for a review and cancellation of all of his criminal cases. “We regard what is happening in relation to Navalny as an attempt on the life of a politician, committed out of personal and political hatred,” said the letter, “You, the President of the Russian Federation, personally bear responsibility for the life of Alexey Navalny on the territory of the Russian Federation, including in prison facilities – [you bear this responsibility] to Navalny himself, to his relatives, and to the whole world.” Among the signatories were chairman of the Pskov regional branch of the Yabloko party, the deputy of the regional assembly Lev Schlosberg, the deputy from Karelia, the ex-chairman of Yabloko Emilia Slabunova, and the deputy of the Moscow City Duma Yevgeny Stupin.
The following day, his daughter called on Russian prison authorities to let her father be checked by doctors in a tweet written from Stanford University, where she is a student. Prominent celebrities such as J.K. Rowling and Jude Law also addressed a letter to Russian authorities asking to provide Navalny with proper medical treatment. U.S. president Joe Biden called his treatment “totally unfair” and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the Kremlin had been warned “that there will be consequences if Mr. Navalny dies.” The European Union’s head diplomat Josep Borrell stated that the organization held the Russian government accountable for Navalny’s health conditions. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also expressed her concern for his health. However, Russian authorities rebuked such concerns by foreign countries. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russian prison officials are monitoring Navalny’s health, not the president.
On 19 April 2021 Navalny was moved from prison to a hospital for convicts, according to the Russian prison service, for “vitamin therapy”. On 23 April 2021, Navalny announced that he was ending his hunger strike on advice of his doctors and as he felt his demands had been partially met. As of June 2021 his newspapers were still being censored as articles were cut out.
Designation as extremist
On 16 April 2021 the Moscow prosecutor office requested the Moscow City Court to designate organizations linked to Navalny including the FBK and his headquarters as extremist organizations, claiming: “Under the disguise of liberal slogans, these organizations are engaged in creating conditions for the destabilization of the social and socio-political situation.” In response, Navalny aide Leonid Volkov stated: “Putin has just announced full-scale mass political repression in Russia.”
On 26 April 2021 Moscow’s prosecutor office ordered Navalny’s network of regional offices, including those of the FBK, to cease its activities, pending a court ruling on whether to designate them as extremist organizations. His ally Leonid Volkov explained that it will limit many of the group’s activities as prosecutors seek to label the Foundation as “extremists”. The move was condemned by Germany as well as Amnesty International, which, in a statement, said: “The objective is clear: to raze Alexei Navalny’s movement to the ground while he languishes in prison.” On 29 April 2021, Navalny’s team announced that the political network would be dissolved, in advance of a court ruling in May expected to designate it as extremist. According to Volkov, the headquarters would be transformed into independent political organizations “which will deal with investigations and elections, public campaigns and rallies”. On the same day, his allies said that a new criminal case had been opened against Navalny, for allegedly setting up a non-profit organization that infringed on the rights of citizens. The next day, the leader of Team 29, Ivan Pavlov, who also represents Navalny’s team in the extremism case, was detained in Moscow. On 30 April, the financial monitoring agency added Navalny’s regional campaign offices to a list of “terrorists and extremists.” On 20 May, the head of the Russian prison system and Navalny’s ally Ivan Zhdanov reported that Navalny had “more or less” recovered and that his health was generally satisfactory. On 7 June, Navalny was returned to prison after fully recovering from the effects of the hunger strike.
On 9 June 2021 Navalny’s political network, including his headquarters and the FBK, were designated as extremist organizations and liquidated by the Moscow City Court. Vyacheslav Polyga, judge of Moscow City Court, upheld the administrative claim of the prosecutor of Moscow city Denis Popov and, rejecting all the petitions of the defense, decided to recognize Anti-Corruption Foundation as extremist organization, to liquidate it and to confiscate its assets; similar decision had been taken against Citizens’ Rights Protection Foundation; the activity of the Alexei Navalny staff was prohibited (case No.3а-1573/2021). Case hearing was held in camera because, as indicated by advocate Ilia Novikov, the case file including the text of the administrative claim was classified as state secret. According to advocate Ivan Pavlov, Navalny was not the party to the proceedings and the judge refused to give him such status; at the hearing, the prosecutor stated that defendants are extremist organizations because they want the change of power in Russia and they promised to help participants of the protest with payment of administrative and criminal fines and with making a complaints to the European Court of Human Rights. On 4 August 2021, First Appellate Ordinary Court in Moscow upheld the decision of the court of first instance (case No.66а-3553/2021) and this decision entered into force that day. On 28 December 2021, it was reported that Anti-Corruption Foundation, Citizens’ Rights Protection Foundation and 18 natural persons including Alexei Navalny filed a cassation appeals to the Second Cassation Ordinary Court. On 25 March 2022, the Second Cassation Ordinary Court rejected all cassation appeals and upheld the judgements of lower courts (case No.8а-5101/2022).
In October 2021, Navalny said that the Russian prison commission designated him as a “terrorist” and “extremist”, but that he was no longer regarded as a flight risk.[353] In January 2022, Russia added him and his aides to the “terrorists and extremists” list. On 28 June 2022, Navalny lost his appeal on being designated as “extremist” and “terrorist”.
Latest charges
In February 2022 Alexei Navalny faced an additional 10 to 15 years in prison in a new trial on fraud and contempt of court charges. The charges alleged that he stole $4.7m (£3.5m) of donations given to his political organizations and insulted a judge. He was tried in a makeshift courtroom in the corrective colony at which he was imprisoned. Amnesty International independently analyzed the trial materials calling the charges “arbitrary” and “politically motivated”.
On 21 February 2022, prosecution witness Fyodor Gorozhanko refused to testify against Navalny in the trial, stating that investigators had “pressured” him to testify to the information they wanted and that he did not believe Navalny had committed any crimes. On 24 February, during his trial, Navalny condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began that day and asked the court to include his statement to the trial’s protocol. He said that it would “lead to a huge number of victims, destroyed futures, and the continuation of this line of impoverishment of the citizens of Russia.” He called the war a distraction to the population to “divert their attention from problems that exist inside the country”.
On 22 March 2022, Navalny was found guilty of contempt of court and embezzlement and given a 9-year sentence in a maximum-security prison; he was also ordered to pay a fine of 1.2 million rubles. Amnesty International described the trial as a “sham”.
On 17 May 2022, Navalny opened an appeal process against the sentence; the court said the process would resume on 24 May after Navalny requested to postpone the hearing to have a family meeting before being transferred. On 24 May, the Moscow City Court upheld the judgement of the court of first instance.
On 31 May 2022, Navalny said that he was officially notified about new charges of extremism brought against him, in which he was facing up to an additional 15 years in prison.
In mid-June 2022, Navalny was transferred to the maximum security prison IK-6 in Melekhovo, Vladimir Oblast.
On 11 July 2022, Navalny announced the relaunch of his Anti-Corruption Foundation as an international organization with an advisory board including his wife Yulia Navalnaya, Guy Verhofstadt, Anne Applebaum, and Francis Fukuyama; Navalny also stated that the first contribution to Anti-Corruption Foundation International would be the Sakharov Prize ($50,000) that was awarded to him.
On 7 September 2022, Navalny said that he had been placed in solitary confinement for the fourth time in just over a month, after just being released. He linked his recent treatment to his attempts to establish a labor union in his penal colony and his “6000” list of individuals he has called to be sanctioned. The next day, he said that his attorney-client privilege was revoked with prison authorities accusing him of continuing to commit crimes from prison.
On 4 October 2022, allies of Navalny said they were relaunching his regional political network to fight the mobilization and war.
On 17 November 2022, Navalny stated that he was now in permanent solitary confinement. Infractions besides the attempt to start a labor union among the prisoners were that he did not button his collar, did not clean the prison yard well enough, and that he addressed a prison official by his military rank rather than his patronymic.
On 10 January 2023, over 400 doctors in Russia signed an open letter to president Putin demanding that prison authorities “stop abusing” Navalny, after it became known that he fell ill with flu in solitary confinement and his lawyers were not allowed to give him basic medication. Less than a month later, Navalny was transferred to an isolated punishment cell, a stricter form of imprisonment reserved for those who violate prison rules, for the maximum term of six months.
It is not exactly clear when Navalny will be released from prison, however, it has been speculated that he will be freed in September 2032 if he serves his entire term.