Supporters of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny displayed a replica of his cell outside the Moscow Embassy in Berlin on Tuesday.
Passersby can enter the cell about 3 meters long by two meters wide, a replica of the one in which the opponent is confined in a high-security prison in Russia.
“I was surprised that the door was closed and I felt a bit uncomfortable,” said Anya Nikolaeva, 26, who visited the replica, placed in front of the embassy, located on the famous avenue Unter den Linden, near the Brandenburg Gate. .
“I was happy to know that it was going to end soon”, adds this Russian from Saint Petersburg, who participated in this action to show her support for Alexeï Navalny.
a dark cell
The 46-year-old opponent of Vladimir Putin’s regime is jailed outside the town of Vladimir, some 230 kilometers east of Moscow, after a conviction for embezzlement, one of several trials that Navalny denounced as an attempt to silence it.
Alexei Navalny’s brother, Oleg, personally visited the embassy on Tuesday, after serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence in the Russian prison system. He participated in the design of the cell.
Light enters the room through a small window at one end, dimly illuminating a small sink, a free-standing toilet, and a bed, folded up during the day.
“I’m in awe of his strength, especially his mental strength,” said Natalia Busch, 45, who regularly donates to her opponent’s organization.
“People are very destabilized and impressed by the conditions Alexeï Navalny is currently in,” according to Eugene Nasyrov, 42, the volunteer in charge of the cell.
The facility is open 24 hours a day and will operate until February 23, the eve of the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.
Source: BFM TV
