Russia’s Alexey Navalny decries “lawlessness” of hastily convened jailhouse hearing – By Alexandra Odynova (CBS News) / January 18 2021
Moscow — Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who was detained Sunday immediately upon his return to Moscow after recovering from nerve-agent poisoning, was put before a judge on Monday morning at a police station, instead of a normal courtroom, for a hearing his lawyers had no time to prepare for. It remained unclear what new charges the Kremlin critic could face, or how long he might be detained amid several investigations that his allies dismiss as politically motivated.
Navalny’s lawyers were not allowed to see the politician before the hearing on Monday, which they learned about just minutes before it started at a police station in the outskirts of Moscow. The judge gave Navalny’s defense team 30 minutes to familiarize themselves with the case materials and said they could then have another 20 minutes to communicate with their client, before ordering a recess of 50 minutes.
“I’ve seen a lot of mockery of justice… But this is impossible what is happening now,” Navalny said in a cell phone video posted by his press secretary ahead of the surprise hearing. “It is the highest degree of lawlessness.”
Алексея из зала «суда» pic.twitter.com/Dqsa4x0qrz
— Кира Ярмыш (@Kira_Yarmysh) January 18, 2021
