Navalny says prison colony has revoked his right to attorney-client privilege
On September 8, 2022, Alexey Navalny announced via social media that the administration at the Penal Colony no. 6, where he's serving his sentence, pulled him out of his cell to notify him that his right to attorney-client privilege had been revoked.
They brought me out of my cell to the commission, where the administration solemnly announced: «It has been established that you continue your criminal activity, you are committing crimes directly from the prison facilities. And you communicate with your accomplices through lawyers. Therefore, we abolish the attorney-client privilege with regard to you. All incoming and outgoing lawyer documents will henceforth be subject to a three-day check».
The colony's administration refused to explain to Navalny what kind of crimes he was committing. Navalny quoted one of the prison's employees as saying: "This is secret information, you are not allowed to know it, we will not give you the inspection materials. All you need to know is that the attorney-client privilege no longer applies to you."
Moreover, according to Navalny, they nailed down the slot in the lawyers' room for the document transfers, so he and his lawyers have to communicate through plastic glass: "Communication is more like a pantomime."
I do not know what has triggered the authorities so much: the 6,000 list, the Smart Voting, or the prisoners' union. All three of these things sound great to me.
Since August 12, Navalny has been held almost entirely in solitary confinement, ostensibly because he unbuttoned a button on his uniform, was too slow to comply with orders, and failed to introduce himself properly. He was also declared a "persistent violator" in the colony, for which he will now be forced to see his family less often.