New criminal case initiated against Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is currently serving a nine-year jail term, had a fresh criminal case initiated against him in Moscow, according to his spokesperson on Tuesday.

"A new criminal case was opened against Alexei Navalny while he's in prison as a result of a 'provocation'," Kira Yarmysh said in English on Twitter.

It was the Kremlin critic's eleventh case, according to Yarmysh, and he was already facing a 35-year jail sentence.

His followers interpret the accusations as payback for his taking on President Vladimir Putin.

In the most recent instance, Navalny is accused of "disorganisation of the activity of penitentiary institutions," a charge that carries a potential five-year jail sentence.

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Yarmysh said the administration staged a "provocation" against Navalny by placing an inmate "with personal hygiene problems" in his cell.

The smell was so bad, Navalny "refused to go in there", Yarmysh added.

According to informal prison "rules", Yarmysh said that Navalny was expected to use force to kick the inmate out of his cell.

"He told the guards that he would not do it because this convict was not to blame and the administration was using him as a tool."

After being "hit and dragged into the cell," Navalny "grabbed (the inmate) by the scruff of the neck and dragged him to the door", Yarmysh said.

The guards then "surrounded Navalny, pinned him to the wall, and the (penal) colony administration reported that a new criminal case was opened".

Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-made nerve agent, on a trip to Siberia in 2020.

He underwent treatment in Germany and returned to Russia in January 2021, where he was arrested on landing at a Moscow airport.

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