Russia: Putin critic Alexei Navalny goes 'missing' from prison
Dec 11, 2023
Moscow [Russia], December 11 : The lawyers of jailed Russian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, have not heard from him for around a week and his name is also missing from the list of the prisoners, CNN reported citing the spokesperson of the Putin critic.
Navalny, who was imprisoned in a penal colony east of Moscow was sentenced to 19 years in prison in August after he was found guilty of creating an "extremist community, financing extremist activities" and numerous other crimes.
Kira Yarmysh, the spokesperson of Navalny alleged on Monday that the lawyers have not been able to meet the jailed leader despite repeated attempts and they have been informed that he is not in both the penal colonies.
He further alleged that the lawyers were informed that Navalny is "no longer" on the list of prisoners and
"Today, as on Friday, the lawyers tried to get to IK-6 and IK-7 -- two colonies in the Vladimir region where Alexey @navalny might be. They have just been informed simultaneously in both colonies that he is not there. We still don't know where Alexey is," Yarmysh posted on X (formerly Twitter).
https://x.com/Kira_Yarmysh/status/1734206839581995171?s=20
"On Friday and throughout today, neither IK-6 nor IK-7 responded to them," Yarmysh posted, adding that Navalny had been missing for six days.
Yarmysh added, "They just came out of IK-6 Melekhovo to a lawyer and said that prisoner Navalny is no longer on their list. They refuse to say where he was transferred".
Meanwhile, Moscow Times reported citing Navalny's team that the jailed Russian leader suffered a serious health incident.
"We have learned that last week he had a serious health-related incident. Navalny's life is at great risk. He is in complete isolation right now," Maria Pevchikh, his close ally and the chair of the board of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, said Friday, adding that "his lawyers are refused entry and asked to wait".
Navalny was already serving sentences of 11-and-a-half years in a maximum security facility on fraud and other charges he denies.
He was last imprisoned in the IK-6 penal colony east of Moscow.
The supporters of Navalny allege that his arrest and incarceration are a "politically motivated" attempt to stifle his criticism of the Russian President.
According to CNN, Navalny posed one of the most serious threats to Putin's legitimacy during his rule, which has spanned more than two decades.
The dissident was taken from Russia to Germany in 2020, after he was poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent. Navalny had to be airlifted from the Siberian city of Omsk and arrived comatose at a hospital in Berlin.
Navalny was immediately incarcerated upon his return to Russia in January 2021, on charges of violating the terms of his probation related to a fraud case brought against him in 2013, which he also dismissed as politically motivated.
He has also campaigned from prison against Russia's war against of Ukraine and has even attempted to mobilize public opposition to the war.
When Navalny was in August sentenced to 19 years in a maximum security penal colony, he said "the number of years does not matter," CNN reported.
