By Sally Shakkour
Imprisoned Alexi Navalny, the opposition leader of Russian president Vladimir Putin, revealed that he will file a lawsuit against his jail for banning him from possessing or reading Quran, which he intended to study while serving time outside Moscow.
Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says he is suing his prison for withholding the Quran, which he intended to study while serving time outside Moscow.https://t.co/4h1aOgMqzw
— CBS 21 News (@CBS21NEWS) April 13, 2021
The opposition leader revealed that he wasn’t only banned from getting the holy Quran to read; but jail authorities have also forbidden him from accessing all the books he brought or ordered since he was arrested in January upon returning to Moscow from Germany.
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has threatened to sue the prison in which he is jailed, accusing it of withholding the Quran – a holy book he intended to study while serving his sentence.https://t.co/VaayHwBaqO
— Billow Kerrow (@BillowKerrow) April 13, 2021
The 44-year-old, who has been under a hunger strike for about 2 weeks said: "The thing is, they're not giving me my Quran. And it pisses me off," stating that it is one of his several "self-improvement" goals.
Navalny has suffered for months after being subjected to nerve-agent poisoning where he blamed the Kremlin for the attack. However, Russia has denied those allegations.
Can someone explain why Navalny voluntarily returned to Russia after his near death from the poisoned tea?
— Amie De'Kanna (@AmieKanna) April 8, 2021
No snark at all, just truly wondering. Many opponents of sadistic leaders successfully revolt against them from a safe distance.
Why didn't Navalny?
On the other hand, Navalny is not the only thorny topic in Russia these days. Putin was slammed last week after banning gay marriages in the country and for prohibiting transgender couples from adopting children.
"We believe that there will be more hate speech and hate crimes, and that LGBT people will suffer more violence."https://t.co/gQWWX3RszM
— Gay Community News (@GCNmag) April 8, 2021
Sources have described Putin’s decision as disturbing for LGBTQ+ community in Russia. Following the referendum, Max Olenichev from the LGBTQ+ support group said that gay people will be ‘left behind’.
According to the Russian LGBT Network, banning same-sex marriage vote was just a path for Putin to get the public to vote for further political power. They stated they were “convinced that the main purpose of adopting a series of amendments to the constitution is to keep in power the current government and Russian President. We consider other constitutional changes artificial to gain people’s attention.”
Thoughts?
— Trinity (@Trinity_Aus) April 12, 2021
Vladimir Putin just enacted a series of anti-LGBTQ+ amendments banning marriage equality and transgender adoptions, and centering “a belief in God” as a core value of the country.
https://t.co/GAz3zicQBe
RUSSIA - Following last year's referendum president Vladimir Putin signed into law the constitutional amendment allowing him to run for two more terms as president (potentially until 2036). Also, signed were the supremacy of Russian law over others and a ban on gay marriage.
— Brian Lighthouse (@B_Lighthouse) April 6, 2021
Nevertheless, the Russian president has signed into law a bill, allowing him to hold the presidential office for 2 more terms, up-to 2036. The legislation bill has caused public anger as it restricts people’s freedom to elect a new president every 6 years.
The 68-year-old Russian leader, Putin, has already been in power for more than two decades after he was re-elected in 2012.
my short take on the investigation into anti-gay purges in Chechnya: https://t.co/VwAuJ8N8xg
— Dasha Litvinova (@dashalitvinovv) May 24, 2017
In fact cracking down on LGBT people is not new in Russia, people who presented their sexual orientation were subjected to forced disappearances, secret abductions, imprisonment, torture as well as extrajudicial killing by authorities, in what is known as anti-gay purges in Chechnya.
The allegations were initially reported on April, 2017 in Novaya Gazeta, which is Russian-language opposition newspaper. The allegations revealed since February 2017 over 100 men were arrested and tortured and at least three had died in an extrajudicial killing, according to Wikipedia.
