Russia's Navalny says he could be put in solitary confinement "close to torture" over minor prison infractions
CBSN
Moscow — Russia's jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny has said he could be put into solitary confinement, in conditions "close to torture," after being reprimanded by prison officials for a series of minor infractions including things like getting out of bed a few minutes too early. Navalny, 44, is President Vladimir Putin's highest-profile critic, and he is currently serving a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for violating the terms of a previous suspended sentence. In an Instagram post made on his behalf on Monday, Navalny said he had received at least 10 reprimands over the past four weeks in two different prisons. "You get two reprimands and you go to punitive isolation confinement, which is an unpleasant place, conditions there are close to torture," he said. Navalny was moved earlier this month to a notorious penal colony about 60 miles outside Moscow, known as one of the toughest of its kind in the country, after spending two weeks in another facility closer to the capital.
In the social media post, he said his violations of prison rules included getting out of bed 10 minutes before the official wake-up call and wearing a T-shirt during a meeting with his lawyers. He also refused to go out for morning exercises, telling a prison official: "Let's go have some coffee instead." His lawyer said the reprimands meant Navalny was also no longer eligible for early parole. The opposition politician was sentenced to prison last month soon after his return to Moscow from Berlin, where he spent five months recovering from poisoning with the Soviet-era nerve agent novichok. Navalny's comments about the prospect of being placed in solitary confinement came on the heels of statements last week by his allies and family voicing fear for his health. They said he is suffering intense pain in his back and right leg, and that his appeals for treatment have been ignored.Noumea — France's president held a flurry of meetings with local representatives in the restive Pacific territory of New Caledonia on Thursday, urging calm after deadly rioting, and vowing thousands of military reinforcements will stay in place to quell what he called an "unprecedented insurrection."
Kathmandu — Nepali climber Phunjo Lama on Thursday reached Mount Everest's summit in 14 hours and 31 minutes, smashing the record for the world's fastest ascent of the mountain by a woman. Climbers usually take days to reach the top of the 29,032-foot mountain, spending nights on its different camps to rest and acclimatize.
New Delhi — Indian justice officials have changed course amid outrage over the bail terms set for a teenager accused of killing two people while driving a Porsche at high speed while drunk and without a license. The 17-year-old son of a wealthy businessman had been ordered to write a 300-word essay and work with the local traffic police for 15 days to be granted bail — a decision that was made within 15 hours of his arrest.
Zurich — A woman jogger was killed by a naked man who was screaming and attacking people in a lakeside park in Switzerland, police said Wednesday. The attack happened Tuesday evening in Mannedorf on Lake Zurich, around 12 miles southeast of Switzerland's biggest city, the Zurich cantonal police said.
Norway, Ireland and Spain said Wednesday they are recognizing a Palestinian state in a historic move that drew condemnation from Israel and jubilation from the Palestinians. Israel immediately ordered back its ambassadors from Norway and Ireland and appeared ready to do the same with its ambassador to Spain.