After 15 days in solitary confinement, Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was sent back to solitary confinement on Wednesday, and the authorities began a new round of trials against him, DPA and Agerpres news agencies reported.

Navalny’s associates in Telegram claim that in his case, the “sacred” principle of giving a detainee a rest day after 15 days of isolation, respected in Soviet times, was violated.

Since the summer of last year, Oleksiy Navalny has been sent to a detention center for the 14th time, where the conditions are particularly harsh.

Detainees cannot buy additional food or visit relatives.

Navalny recently said that the time he has for writing letters has been reduced, and his daily walks in the colony yard are scheduled early in the morning to avoid sunlight.

Recently accused of planning terrorist attacks from prison

The new round of legal proceedings against him concerns alleged extremist activities, which he denounces as an “absurd charge”.

Navalny is accused of preparing terrorist attacks in prison, DPA reports.

“I expect 30 years in this case and probably life imprisonment in the next one,” the Russian dissident said on Wednesday via video link at the first technical hearing, where the court will decide how much time the defendant will get to familiarize himself with the “accusations presented to him.

His press secretary Kira Yarmash explained that the court is trying to prevent him from communicating with the press.

At the international level, Navalny, officially convicted of fraud, is considered a political prisoner, and human rights activists talk about an arbitrary trial to silence this opponent of President Vladimir Putin.​