Navalny’s statement on mobilization

Alexei Navalny's words about the mobilization, which we previously published, cost him another 15 days in the punishment cell. And yet, at the next court hearing, he spoke out again on the same topic. Below is an excerpt from his speech.

I want to start by reminding you that you will be considering, among other things, my lawsuit against being declared a repeat offender. And, apparently, some of my other lawsuits of the same kind, which already exist or will arise. And the current situation as a whole. I wanted to start by saying this. If you were to ask me: “Tell us, please, Alexei, how are you, have you been released from the punishment cell after serving 15 days there?”

 

I would answer: no, Your Honour. I am back in the punishment cell, because I have served 15 days there, I was released back to the strict confinement unit, I spent the night there, and then they sent me back to the punishment cell for another 12 days. This perfectly illustrates the overall structure and meaning of what is happening. At the last hearing I was given 12 days in a punishment cell, and they said outright: “Well, you said it yourself at the last court session”.

 

Obviously, they were referring to my statement that I think the mobilisation that is now taking place in Russia is criminal. Absolutely no one is even hiding the political context of what is going on here. So before we move on to a substantive discussion of this first ominous violation of not buttoning up my top button, I want to say both to you, Your Honor, and to you, distinguished representatives of the regional administration, and to you, distinguished representatives of the institutional administration, and to the entire Federal Penitentiary Service, and to the Russian authorities, and to Putin, and to anyone.

 

If I have the right to speak out against this criminal mobilization, because of which tens of thousands of people are going to die in the trenches somewhere for god knows what, and tens of thousands of families will lose their mothers, brothers, fathers, and so on... If I oppose the fact that hundreds of thousands of our people are being sent to kill other people, innocent people like them, I will spend 12 days in a punishment cell, and I will spend as much time more time there as will be necessary to defend my right to speak out against this.

 

This punishment cell won’t shut me up. This is a crime against my country. That’s exactly how I treat it, and I won’t keep quiet. I hope that everyone else who hears me will not keep quiet about it. Because what’s happening now is much more terrible than any 12 or 112 days in a punishment cell. This is a historic crime, this is involving hundreds of thousands of people in the crimes that Putin is committing.

 

He’s just like a mafia, you see? He’s already binding hundreds of thousands of people by blood. With this mobilization, and with these fake referendums.