Russian Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny joked today in his first court appearance since being transferred to an Arctic prison colony, but a judge rejected his latest appeal over his treatment in prison.

Navalny appeared via video link from the prison colony he was transferred to last month from a prison in Melekhovo, east of Moscow, after an arduous three-week journey.

Navalny drew laughter from the judge when he asked during the video link whether the prison in Melehovo threw a party to celebrate his departure and if there was karaoke in it. He then asked if the prison service in Melekhovo held ‘nude parties’ — in a reference to a gathering of near-nude celebrities in Moscow last month that scandalized the country.

These comments demonstrated Navalny’s ability to humor even this difficult situation and communicate with the outside world despite being sent to one of Russia’s most isolated and inhospitable regions.

Regular court hearings give him a platform to continue his attacks on President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine, as well as to challenge and taunt those holding him prisoner. He told Judge Kirill Nikiforov, who has presided over many such hearings, that “a tear rolled down my cheek” from his joy at seeing him again.

Navalny, 47, is serving sentences totaling more than 30 years for a range of charges ranging from fraud to extremist activity, which he says are designed to silence him. In 2020, he survived an attempt to poison him with a neurotoxic agent.

His appeal was rejected

In today’s hearing – the transcript of which was released by independent Russian media outlet Mediazona – Navalny unsuccessfully argued that authorities acted illegally by sending him to solitary confinement in October for insulting a prison inspector.

Navalny stated that the inspector confiscated his pen despite the fact that he had the right to possess stationery and acknowledged that he “crossed the line” by calling him a devil, an idiot and a scarecrow. As Navalny stated, he should have already, before the time of that incident, been transferred from Melehovo to other detention facilities after the 19-year sentence imposed on him in August. The judge dismissed his appeal.

The “Polar Wolf” prison colony, located about 1,900 km northeast of Moscow, is one of Russia’s cruelest. Navalny joked in a social media post, relayed through his lawyers this week, that the temperature “hasn’t dropped below -32 degrees yet” and that he finds his morning exercise “refreshing”.

At today’s hearing he stated that the food is good but that he has not yet received any letters or telegrams.

Call for demonstrations

Yesterday, Navalny’s movement called for protests around the world to mark the third anniversary of his imprisonment on January 21. Russian President Vladimir Putin has locked one of his fiercest critics in an Arctic prison colony to silence him, Navalny’s team said.

“Don’t let Putin win,” Leonid Volkov, a close associate of Navalny, who has fled abroad, wrote on Telegram late yesterday.

Demonstrations are only organized abroad, as the Russian authorities harshly suppress any dissent. Participation in Germany is expected to be significant, where organizers expect rallies in up to 10 cities, including Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Stuttgart.