Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny has been kneed in the groin by brutal prison guards in what is believed to be delibrate provocation to prolong his jail term for a further five years.
The Russian opposition leader's lawyer Vadim Kobzev made the allegation against the jailers who had returned a “stinking” homeless man to the politician’s cell.
Navalny, 46, who wants to replace Vladimir Putin and lead a democratic Russia, was “dragged into the cell” after refusing to voluntarily enter while the unwashed man was there.
