Alexei Navalny, Russia’s leading opposition leader and a political enemy of President Vladimir Putin, requested the abolition of prison meal time restrictions, saying he wanted to leisurely eat Korean cup ramen ‘doshirak’ in prison, but was rejected.
According to RAPSI, a Russian legal news agency, on the 11th (local time), the Russian Supreme Court dismissed Navalny’s lawsuit to abolish prison regulations regarding meal times and book possession.
Navalny argued that the phrase in the prison’s internal regulations limiting the time prisoners can eat hot food for breakfast and dinner to ‘maximum 30 minutes’ is controversial.
He said, “Because of this rule, meal times are limited to 10 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening,” and “it is impossible to eat within 10 minutes.”
He continued, “The most popular menu item in the prison canteen is ‘lunchbox,’” and appealed, “It would be nice to be able to eat that without any restrictions.” He complained that he burned his tongue because he was eating ramen made with hot water too quickly.
Paldo’s cup ramen brand ‘Doshirak’ is considered the national ramen in Russia and is very popular. ‘Doshirak’, which features a square container, will occupy about 62% of the Russian ramen market share in 2022 and has maintained its first place for nearly 10 years.
Paldo’s ‘Lunch Box’ sold in Russia. Provided by PaldoNavalny also requested that the rule limiting the number of books be abolished, saying that ordinary prisoners can possess 10 books, but prisoners who defied the regime or in solitary confinement can possess only 1 book.
He claimed that his religious rights were violated by limiting the number of religious books to one, and that “even dissidents during the Soviet era could have had more books than this.”
However, the Supreme Court did not accept Navalny’s request.
Alexei Navalny giving a speech in Moscow, Russia, in October 2019. 2020.8.20. Moscow = AP/NewsisNavalny, who has criticized President Putin’s authoritarian rule, ate tea at the airport in 2020, fell into a coma after boarding a plane, and was transferred to Germany for treatment. The German government stated that the person was ‘exposed to Novichok, a chemical weapon used by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.’
After returning to Russia, he is serving a total of more than 30 years in prison on charges of illegal acquisition of money, extremist activities, and fraud.
Navalny was imprisoned in Melekovo Prison, about 235 km east of Moscow, and was recently transferred to Siberia’s Third Prison. It is notorious for its extreme cold, which drops below minus 20 degrees Celsius in the winter, so it is also called the ‘Arctic Wolf’ prison, as it mainly incarcerates serious criminals.
Ivan Zhdanov, Navalny’s colleague and head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF), argued that “the government isolated Navalny here before the presidential election approaches.”
Hyewon Lee, Donga.com
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.