The trial in the new case against Navalny was closed to listeners and the press without explanation

At the trial in the case against Alexei Navalny, listeners were not allowed into the hall, and after some time the broadcast for journalists was turned off. The representative of the press service of the court suggested that the process was closed, but could not answer with what wording. He promised to clarify this issue only tomorrow.

As part of the new criminal case, Navalny and his associates are charged under several “extremist” articles at once, and the guilty verdict threatens the politician with more than 30 years in prison.

The reason for closing the process, apparently, was some "information" received from one of the employees of the colony where Navalny is serving his sentence. The essence of the message, as well as its sources, remained unclear due to the poor quality of the broadcast from the courtroom.

As Mediazona writes , this “information” first became a reason for not allowing listeners into the hall. Even Navalny's parents were not allowed in there. They were sent to a separate room to listen to the same low-quality broadcast as the journalists.

Then, referring to the same "information", the prosecutor demanded that the process be completely closed. The state prosecutor mentioned that we are talking about "provocations aimed at physical impact."

The defense of Navalny and other defendants in this case actively objected. Thus, Svetlana Davydova, Daniel Kholodny's lawyer, recalled that the security measures taken at this trial are already unprecedented, since the trial is taking place on the territory of the colony.

“I’m interested to see an intruder who could smuggle at least something, and even with so many employees here [to try to do something],” Davydova said.

She also noted that from the document referred to by the prosecution, it is not clear where the colony officer received this “information”. “In fact, they just took it from the ceiling,” Davydova said.

Kholodny himself also opposed the closure of the trial. “The state is very ashamed that they could not collect anything in a year and a half of the investigation,” he commented on the petition of the state prosecution to close the process.

The defense also reminded the court that, if necessary, individual sessions can be closed, but not the entire process. In turn, the prosecutor said that he saw no reason not to trust the “information” from the FSIN officer and stated that an open trial could pose a threat not only to its participants, but also to their relatives.

After that, the broadcast, which the journalists were watching, stopped. Whether this means that the judge went to decide on the motion to close the process remained unclear.

“Gentlemen, as I understand it, the process was closed,” Vadim Polezhaev, a spokesman for the Moscow City Court, who is responsible for interaction with the press at this trial, told reporters. Then he was asked to clarify whether the entire process was closed and, if so, with what wording.

“I think we will find out about this closer to tomorrow,” Polezhaev replied.

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