Kremlin foe Navalny says he’s been put in a punishment cell in an Arctic prison colony

By DASHA LITVINOVA
Associated Press

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says officials at the Arctic prison colony where he is serving a 19-year term have isolated him in a tiny punishment cell over a minor infraction. Navalny said in a social media statement relayed from behind bars that officials accused him of refusing to “introduce himself in line with protocol.” Navalny has been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Russia after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. He has since received three prison terms and spent months in isolation in a penal colony in central Russia for alleged minor infractions. He was transferred last month to the prison above the Arctic Circle.