Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny has been transferred from a penal colony and his current whereabouts are unknown, his team said on Monday, the 11th of December. Navalny’s allies had been awaiting his transfer to a “special regime” prison, the most harshest category in the Russian prison system, after he was sentenced in August to 19 years in prison on top of the 11 and a half years he is currently serving, reports Reuters.
Moving prisoners across Russia’s vast territory by train can take weeks, and lawyers and family members do not receive information about their whereabouts or condition until they reach their destination. It is not known whether Navalny is on his way.
Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said that staff at the IK-6 prison in Melekhovo had told his lawyer that
the opposition leader was no longer among the inmates.
She said he could have been sent to any of the 30 special regime colonies in Russia, adding that they will be trying to contact each of them.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby also have expressed concerns about the situation and said that Alexei Navalny should be released immediately, stressing that he should not have been imprisoned in the first place, writes Reuters.
The disappearance of Alexei Navalny coincides with the start of the presidential election campaign, with Vladimir Putin announcing his candidacy for another six-year term. Despite his imprisonment, his team has launched an anti-Putin campaign.
Read also: Navalny’s camp plans to disrupt Putin’s path to becoming President
Navalny’s ally Leonid Volkov has claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that Navalny’s sudden transfer to a special regime colony is not a coincidence but a deliberate act of political control by the Kremlin.
The Kremlin and the Russian prison service did not respond to requests for comment on Alexei Navalny’s sudden transfer from the penal colony, writes Reuters.
Navalny’s allies have stressed the urgency of finding him, expressing concern for his life, health, and safety.
According to Reuters, despite the imprisonment, Alexei Navalny has been able to continue to criticise the Kremlin on social media, describing his experiences behind bars and condemning Putin’s actions in the Ukraine war. His isolation was reinforced when three of his lawyers were arrested in October on suspicion of “extremist” activities.
Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition figure, has won worldwide admiration for his stance against Putin.
He was immediately arrested after returning to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he was being treated for a nerve agent poisoning. Navalny claims that the charges against him are an attempt to silence him and his criticism against Putin.
The Russian authorities consider him and his supporters to be extremists linked to Western intelligence services whose aim is to destabilise Russia.
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