The Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny was forcibly removed from his cell by law enforcement officers on Monday after he had refused to leave it to protest a decision by prison authorities to take away his writing tools, his political allies said.
Mr. Navalny, 47, was scheduled to appear in court via a video link from the penal colony where he’s been held since June 2022 for a hearing in the latest in a series of lawsuits he has filed against his prison’s authorities.
But the screen in the courtroom remained dark and Kira Yarmysh, his spokeswoman, later said that Mr. Navalny refused to leave his cell because his writing instruments had been confiscated.
“After that, several individuals forcibly entered the cell and physically escorted him to the investigator’s office,” Ms. Yarmysh wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Reached for comment later, she said she had no new information about what occurred.
Persons:
Aleksei A, Navalny, he’s, Kira Yarmysh, ” Ms, Yarmysh
Organizations:
Twitter
Locations:
Russian