Washington accused Moscow on Friday, September 9 of not respecting the rights of the imprisoned Russian opponent Alexei Navalny, main critic of Vladimir Putin, in particular by not letting him “communicate freely with his lawyer”.
“The United States is deeply concerned that the Russian government is arbitrarily and increasingly interfering with the rights of Alexei Navalny”US State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. “Prison authorities hampered the preparation of his defense and his ability to communicate freely with his lawyer”for example by monitoring their meetings or causing delays in their exchange of documents, he explained.
It’s about “new evidence of politically motivated harassment” targeting Alexeï Navalny, in the same way as “his repeated solitary confinement for alleged minor offences”, continued Ned Price. This brings to light “the fear experienced by those who speak the truth” in Russia, he concluded, calling once again for the immediate release of the opponent.
In truth, nothing remains, formally, of my rights of defence, which were already quite illusory. »
Alexei Navalny
Thursday, Alexei Navalny claimed to have been deprived of confidential conversations with his lawyers. Moreover, according to him, each document exchanged with his defense will now be subject to a “verification for three days” by the prison administration. “In truth, there is nothing left, formally, of my rights of defense, which were already quite illusory”, had regretted this 46-year-old anti-corruption activist. Last March, Alexeï Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison under a regime “strict” on charges of embezzlement that he deems fictitious.