Navalny was detained two weeks ago on his return from Berlin to Moscow, and is accused of failing to comply with his suspended parole conditions under a suspended sentence of 2014 for embezzlement – a case he motivated politically. Prison authorities now want to replace his suspended sentence with a 3.5-year prison sentence.
In court, Navalny demanded to know how he could better inform authorities about where he was while in a coma.
“Can you explain to me how I would otherwise have to fulfill the conditions of my probationary period and notify where I am?” he said from his glass house in the room.
A representative of the prison responded by saying that he had to provide documents to explain the serious reasons that prevented him from showing up for inspections.
“Come on?” Navalny fired back. “Why are you sitting here and telling the court that you do not know where I am? I fell into a coma, then I was in the ICU, then in rehabilitation. I contacted my lawyer to give you a notice. “You had the address my contact details. What else could I have done to let you know?” he said.
“The president of our country directly said he was letting me go to get treatment in Germany, and you did not know that either?”
The trial on Tuesday opened in a safe presence, with riot police securing the courthouse and cordoning off the general area with police vehicles, trucks and pickup trucks. Streets in the area were open but closed to pedestrians and protesters with barriers.
CNN reporters witnessed police detaining dozens of people outside the courthouse before the trial began.
Russian authorities have repeatedly threatened to jail Navalny if he returns from Germany to Russia. Navalny’s lawyers had earlier told CNN that they had little hope of his release, and criticized the Kremlin’s control of the country’s courts.
In defense, they claim that the prison service was well aware of Navalyny’s location where he received a notice from him in early December. His lawyers also presented a letter from the Charite Clinic in Berlin showing that he was in rehabilitation until his return to Russia.
The trial is set to spark widespread protests against the government. Tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets for two weekends to support Navalny and demand his release. A court ruling to allow Navalny to jail will likely only set protesters on fire.
On Sunday, protesters with Russian security services in years with the loudest show of force were met. According to the independent monitoring group OVD-Info, more than 5,000 people have been detained in at least 85 cities, a record since 2011. Navalny led mass protests against Putin’s government in 2017-18.
‘Yulia, they’re showing you on TV and keep talking about your radical behavior. “Such a bad girl, I’m proud of you,” Navalny said shortly before his trial began.
Navalny’s allies have already called for another round of nationwide protests next weekend.
CNN’s Angela Dewan and Anna Chernova contributed to this report.