Kremlin critic’s wife Navalny delivers borscht and cherries on three-day prison visit

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Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny participates in a rally to mark the 5th anniversary of the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov and to protest proposed amendments to the country’s constitution, in Moscow, Russia on February 29, 2020 . REUTERS / Shamil Zhumatov / File Photo

MOSCOW, Aug.5 (Reuters) – The wife of jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny stayed with him in a Russian prison for three days, taking him borscht and cherries and sending “a big hello to everyone” in her name, she said in a message Thursday.

Navalny is serving 2.5 years in prison for violation of parole in a case of embezzlement that he says was fabricated. Navalny’s allies accuse the authorities of using the law to crush dissenting voices ahead of the parliamentary elections in September.

In an Instagram post, Yulia Navalnaya said she brought everything her husband told her he was missing and described the preparations for the reunion.

“The guards carefully inspect the borscht for a phone inside, cut up a random patty for the heroine and sniff out all the drinks for the alcohol, then you strip and search,” Yulia said.

She described the prison’s family reunion facilities, in the town of Pokrov, about 100 km (60 miles) east of Moscow, as having “the very decent appearance of a 2-star hotel”, with a few bedrooms and a kitchen with paintings. on the walls.

The couple spent “three happy days” without glass walls or bars, according to the post that accompanied a photo of Yulia posing outside the prison. Navalny, described as very skinny but tanned and smiling, was then returned to his cell.

Prisoners in Russian prisons have certain rights for family visits, but it is up to the prison authorities whether or not to grant permission for specific requests. Prison authorities in the Vladimir region where Navalnys prison is located did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Navalny spent nearly a month on a hunger strike earlier this year to demand better medical care for leg and back pain.

Russian authorities last week blocked access to Navalny’s website as well as the websites in Russia of 48 other people and organizations affiliated with him, in the latest chapter in a long crackdown on top national opponent of President Vladimir Putin. Read more

Reporting by Katya Golubkova Editing by David Holmes

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