Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appeared before a Supreme Court judge by video link on Thursday to argue for the right to longer meal breaks and access to more books in prison.
Navalny said prison rules limiting inmates to one book at a time meant that someone who chose to have a Bible or a Koran could not have any other religious or secular literature, including newspapers or magazines.
His arguments prompted a detailed discussion with the judge and a representative of the justice ministry on prison libraries, meal arrangements and cell furnishings.
It was the second day running that he had taken part in legal hearings from the Arctic “Polar Wolf” penal colony, one of Russia’s harshest, to which he was transferred last month after his cumulative sentences were extended to more than 30 years.
Navalny has frequently used such hearings in the past as a means of defying the authorities, demonstrating his resilience and maintaining a link to the outside world despite the harsh conditions of his imprisonment.
