Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is in ‘good spirits’ on his third birthday behind bars – as police detain dozens of supporters holding demonstrations across Russia
- Police arrested 45 people taking part in pro-Navalny protests in Russia today
- READ MORE: Navalny likely to remain behind bars until 2050 on ‘absurd’ charges
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said today he was in ‘good spirits’ on his third birthday behind bars, despite tougher prison conditions and yet another spell in solitary confinement.
It came as police arrested at least 45 people taking part in pro-Navalny demonstrations in Russian cities today, according to specialist NGO OVD-Info.
Risking their own prison terms, some Navalny supporters in Russia marked his birthday by holding individual pickets, while others painted graffiti, wishing him ‘Happy Birthday Alexei’ or demanding ‘Freedom for Alexei Navalny’.
Police quickly detained many for questioning, and officers maintained a raised presence in downtown Moscow and moved quickly to round up those who tried to stage individual pickets on Pushkin Square and elsewhere in the capital.
His supporters also demonstrated in St Petersburg and other Russian cities, holding one-person pickets and leaving signs and graffiti in Mr Navalny’s support.
It came as police arrested at least 45 people taking part in pro-Navalny demonstrations in Russian cities on Sunday, according to specialist NGO OVD-Info (pictured: a protest in Georgia)
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny (pictured) said today he was in ‘good spirits’ on his third birthday behind bars, despite tougher prison conditions and yet another spell in solitary confinement
Risking their own prison terms, some Navalny supporters in Russia marked his birthday by holding individual pickets, while others painted graffiti, wishing him ‘Happy Birthday Alexei’ or demanding ‘Freedom for Alexei Navalny’ (pictured here)
One man managed to throw around leaflets before being whisked away.
A woman holding a small black balloon with the words ‘Happy Birthday!’ who was clad in a hoody with ‘You aren’t alone’ written on it was among those detained. She asked officers why they were detaining her, but they did not answer.
Mr Navalny’s supporters also demonstrated in St Petersburg and other Russian cities, holding one-person pickets and leaving signs and graffiti in Mr Navalny’s support. Many were detained. Pro-Navalny demonstrations were held in several European cities.
READ MORE – Alexei Navalny: The truth teller Putin is trying to kill, day by torturous day… The Kremlin critic survived a poison attack and is now rotting in a brutal penal colony but refuses to stop exposing the regime’s sickening cruelty and corruption
Navalny’s team says he has been harassed in prison and kept in a ‘punishment cell’ for minor transgressions. His supporters say the authorities are trying to crush his morale.
The arch-foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin said he woke up in a punishment cell on his 47th birthday, adding in a message published on social media that it was his 16th such stint.
‘On the morning of your birthday you have to be honest with yourself, so I ask myself the question: am I really in a good mood, or do force myself to feel that way?
‘My answer is: I really am. Let’s face it, of course I wish I didn’t have to wake up in this hellhole and instead have breakfast with my family, receive kisses on the cheek from my children, unwrap presents…
‘But life works in such a way that social progress and a better future can only be achieved if a certain number of people are willing to pay the price for their right to have beliefs.
‘The more there are such people, the smaller the price each has to pay,’ he said. ‘And a day will certainly come when it will be routine and not dangerous at all to tell the truth and stand for justice in Russia.’
Authorities are taking the crackdown on freedoms in Russia to new levels following Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine, with independent media shut down and most key opposition figures behind bars or in exile.
In his message, Navalny said he believed ‘the day will come when speaking the truth and advocating for justice will become something commonplace and not at all dangerous in Russia.’
Police quickly detained many for questioning, and officers maintained a raised presence in downtown Moscow (one demonstrator here with a poster reading ‘Happy Birthday Alexei’) and moved quickly to round up those who tried to stage individual pickets on Pushkin Square and elsewhere in the capital
His supporters also demonstrated in St Petersburg and other Russian cities, holding one-person pickets and leaving signs and graffiti in Mr Navalny’s support (pictured here in Moscow)
Mr Navalny’s supporters also demonstrated in St Petersburg and other Russian cities, holding one-person pickets and leaving signs and graffiti in Mr Navalny’s support. Many were detained. Pro-Navalny demonstrations were held in several European cities (pictured here in London)
Navalny’s team says he has been harassed in prison and kept in a ‘punishment cell’ for minor transgressions. His supporters (pictured here in Lithuania) say the authorities are trying to crush his morale
Police officers detained a demonstrator in Pushkin Square (pictured) in Moscow, Russia, today as imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has voiced hope for a better future in Russia while his supporters held demonstrations to mark his birthday
The arch-foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin said he woke up in a punishment cell on his 47th birthday, adding in a message published on social media that it was his 16th such stint (pictured: protestors in Georgia)
Authorities are taking the crackdown on freedoms in Russia to new levels following Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine, with independent media shut down and most key opposition figures behind bars or in exile (pictured: demonstrators in Georgia)
In his message, Navalny said he believed ‘the day will come when speaking the truth and advocating for justice will become something commonplace and not at all dangerous in Russia’ (pictured: w oman holding a ‘Free Navalny’ sign in a rally in Georgia)
Navalny, who used to mobilise massive protests against the Kremlin, is serving a nine-year prison sentence for fraud and contempt of court, charges he says were trumped up to punish him for his work to expose official corruption and organising anti-Kremlin protests (pictured: A protest in Santa Monica, California on Navalny’s birthday)
Navalny, who used to mobilise massive protests against the Kremlin, is serving a nine-year prison sentence for fraud and contempt of court, charges he says were trumped up to punish him for his work to expose official corruption and organising anti-Kremlin protests.
He is facing a new trial on extremism charges that could keep him in prison for decades – he could face another 30 years and believes the authorities are trying to keep him in prison for life.
Kremlin critics view the case as another Russian government attempt to isolate President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent foe.
He shot to global prominence after barely surviving a poisoning with Novichok, a Soviet-designed nerve agent, which the opposition politician blames on the Kremlin.
He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning from Germany after recovering from the poisoning.
He is in jail near the town of Vladimir around 150 miles outside Moscow, and has been communicating with the public and sending messages through his legal team.
He is facing a new trial on extremism charges that could keep him in prison for decades – he could face another 30 years and believes the authorities are trying to keep him in prison for life (pictured: Parents taking part in a pro-Navalny rally in Lithuania with their children)
Kremlin critics view the case as another Russian government attempt to isolate President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent foe (pictured: protest in Santa Monica, California)
He shot to global prominence after barely surviving a poisoning with Novichok, a Soviet-designed nerve agent, which the opposition politician blames on the Kremlin (pictured: protestors in Georgia)
He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning from Germany after recovering from the poisoning (pictured: a demonstrator outside the Russian embassy in London)
He is in jail near the town of Vladimir around 150 miles outside Moscow, and has been communicating with the public and sending messages through his legal team (pictured: A protester wearing a Putin mask joins a gathering outside the Russian Embassy in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, in London, today)
Mr Navalny’s associates called for demonstrations to show support for him in Russia and abroad on Sunday (pictured: Protesters holding placards as they gathered in London today)
The new accusations come as Russian authorities are conducting an intensified crackdown on dissent amid the fighting in Ukraine, which Mr Navalny has harshly criticised (pictured: protest in London)
A Moscow court scheduled a preliminary hearing for Tuesday to discuss technical issues related to a new trial of Mr Navalny (pictured: A woman holding a sign with the words ‘Happy Birthday!’ was among those detained in Moscow today)
Mr Navalny has also cited an investigator telling him that he would also face a separate military court trial on terrorism charges that potentially carry a life sentence (pictured: a detained demonstrator in Moscow today)
He said in a social media post on Sunday that he sees his prison term ‘just as an unpleasant part of my favorite job’ and thanked his supporters (pictured here in Lithuania)
Mr Navalny’s associates called for demonstrations to show support for him in Russia and abroad on Sunday.
The new accusations come as Russian authorities are conducting an intensified crackdown on dissent amid the fighting in Ukraine, which Mr Navalny has harshly criticised.
A Moscow court scheduled a preliminary hearing for Tuesday to discuss technical issues related to a new trial of Mr Navalny, rejecting a request by his lawyers for more time to examine voluminous new charges that he rejected as ‘absurd’.
Mr Navalny has also cited an investigator telling him that he would also face a separate military court trial on terrorism charges that potentially carry a life sentence.
He said in a social media post on Sunday that he sees his prison term ‘just as an unpleasant part of my favorite job’ and thanked his supporters.
‘My plan for the previous year was not to grow brutal and embittered and not to lose the nonchalance of behaviour – this is where defeat begins,’ he wrote.
‘And if I succeeded, it was only thanks to your support.’
Navalny (pictured here with his wife Yulia, right, and his children Daria and Zakhar in 2019) wrote: ‘My plan for the previous year was not to grow brutal and embittered and not to lose the nonchalance of behaviour – this is where defeat begins. And if I succeeded, it was only thanks to your support’
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