Kremlin critic Navalny says spent NYE in punishment cell

Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny said Monday he spent New Year's Eve inside a punishment cell for inmates.

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most vocal domestic critic, is serving nine years in jail on charges he says are politically motivated.

"I managed to earn my 10th term in a punishment cell last year after all," Navalny said on social media.

He said he was accused of washing his face in the morning earlier than scheduled and was transferred to the punishment cell for the maximum term of 15 days.

"Thus my plans for a fancy New Year were ruined," Navalny wrote with irony, adding that he had saved a bag of potato chips and some tinned fish for the occasion.

He said he spent New Year's Eve asleep, sharing the cell with two other inmates: one that was "howling and shouting" and another that Navalny described as having poor hygiene.

Navalny was arrested in January 2021 upon returning from Germany, where he recovered from a poison attack that almost killed him, which he blames on the Kremlin.

The 46-year-old was first sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail on old fraud charges but had his jail time extended to nine years after he was found guilty of embezzling donations to his political organisations.

He has been communicating with the public and also sending messages through his legal team since he was detained.