Alexey Navalny, a jailed leader of the Russian opposition, had appealed against restrictions placed on his access to writing materials in prison, but the Russian Supreme Court on Thursday rejected his case, according to independent news source Mediazona.
Navalny had been contesting the limitations placed on access to writing materials in jails “not only for himself, but for all prisoners” during a hearing at the Supreme Court in Moscow, according to his spokesperson Kira Yarmysh. She claimed Navalny, who was present at the court via video link, had been contesting the limits “not only for himself, but for all prisoners.”
In a tweet on her official Twitter account, she stated that Aleksey was working to secure the right to correspondence for all inmates as well as for himself.
The decision came as Navalny is facing a new trial on charges of “extremism” that could result in his prison sentence being extended by decades.
A court spokesperson said Monday that the trial will take place behind closed doors.
Navalny is already serving sentences totaling 11-and-a-half years in a maximum security facility on fraud and other charges that he says were trumped up.
He and his supporters claim that his arrest and imprisonment were politically motivated, intended to silence his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Just hours after the trial began, Navalny announced the start of a campaign aimed at turning Russians against the war in Ukraine.
In comments posted to his Twitter account, Navalny said the “absurd” charges could lead to him serving a further 30 years behind bars.