Watchdog

Imprisoned Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny says he has been placed in a punitive solitary confinement cell for the 10th time since August. This time, Navalny said on his Telegram channel on January 9, he was sent there for 15 days on December 31 for washing himself 36 minutes earlier than he was supposed to, which the penal colony's administration found to be "a serious violation of internal order." Navalny has called all of his placements in solitary confinement "politically motivated." To read the original story from RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

The chief of Russia's Investigative Committee, Aleksandr Bastrykin, has ordered a probe launched against self-exiled actor Artur Smolyaninov over a recent interview he gave about Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Bastrykin’s move on January 9 comes days after Smolyaninov said in the interview with Novaya Gazeta.Evropa that if he was sent to the conflict by Russia, he would fight with Ukrainian armed forces instead. To read the original story from Current Time, click here.