The jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appeared by video link in his first court session, as he was transferred to a high-security prison earlier this month.
Navalny has been in a state of near-total isolation since his arrest early last year. The court rejected his appeal on Tuesday that his lawyers be allowed to record equipment while he is in custody.
It was a rare appearance for the Russian opposition leader, who has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison in a series of cases that appear to be designed to keep him behind bars indefinitely.
Navalny, who appeared gaunt but spirited, told reporters during a recess that his new prison was mega-high security but said the food was better than in his previous prison colony.
He said he expects to be in prison as long as Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. Allies say that Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Kremlin's international isolation make it even less likely that he will emerge from jail in the near future.
Navalny's court appearance came on the same day when Ilya Yashin, an ally and prominent anti-war activist in Russia, was arrested and jailed for 15 days on an administrative charge. His friends fear that the authorities will bring more severe charges against him for discrediting the armed forces. The formal reason for the arrest was a claim by a Russian police officer that Yashin refused to show his documents upon request, grabbing the officer by his uniform and calling him a rude name.
I'm reading the report and am surprised what a bastard I turn out to be, Yashin joked, saying the real reason for the arrest was his opposition to the war.
In late April, Vladimir Kara-Murza, another Russian opposition figure, was jailed for 15 days before being charged with discrediting the armed forces.