'Wish I didn't wake up in prison but I'm in good mood': Alexei Navalny spends third birthday behind bars
Navalny believes that the day will come when speaking the truth and advocating for justice will become something commonplace and not at all dangerous in Russia
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears on a screen set up at a courtroom of the Moscow City Court via a video link from his prison colony during a hearing of an appeal against his nine-year prison sentence he was handed in March after being found guilty of embezzlement and contempt of court, in Moscow on May 24, 2022. AFP file photo
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s critic Alexei Navalny spent his third birthday behind bars today. As expected, Navalny’s condition in prison is only deteriorating and solitary confinement has made things only worse for him.
However, on his birthday, Navalny said that he is in “good spirits.” It came as police arrested at least 45 people taking part in pro-Navalny demonstrations in Russian cities including Moscow and Saint Petersburg on Sunday, according to specialist NGO OVD-Info.
His team has claimed that Navalny 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.
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In a video message, Navalny said, “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…” he added.
“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.”
Navalny believes that the “day will come when speaking the truth and advocating for justice will become something commonplace and not at all dangerous in Russia.”
Putin’s arch-nemesis, Navalny, is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence on embezzlement and other charges.
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.
Navalny is soon set to go on trial in a new “extremism” case and faces a further 35 years in prison.
He believes the authorities are trying to keep him in jail for life.
With inputs from AFP
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