Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has been moved to a penal colony in an Arctic region of northern Russia, his spokeswoman said on Monday after supporters lost touch with him for more than two weeks.
Key points:
- Mr Navalny was tracked down to the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets region
- Mr Navalny’s lawyer managed to see him on Monday
- Two court hearings for Mr Navalny that were due to take place last week were postponed until January
Mr Navalny was tracked down to the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets region, about 1,900 km north-east of Moscow, spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said.
Mr Navalny’s lawyer managed to see him on Monday, Ms Yarmysh said.
Mr Navalny’s allies, who had been preparing for his expected transfer to a “special regime” colony, the harshest grade in Russia’s prison system, said he has not been seen by his lawyers since December 6 and raised the alarm about his fate.
“Many thanks to our supporters, activists, journalists and the media who are concerned about Alexei’s fate and who do not get tired of writing about the situation,” Mr Navalny’s lawyer Ivan Zhdanov said.
Mr Zhdanov said his supporters sent 618 requests for information about the location of Mr Navalny, who had been held at a penal colony 235 km east of Moscow.
Two court hearings for Mr Navalny that were due to take place last week were postponed until January, court filings show, while there was confusion about his whereabouts.
Mr Navalny, a former lawyer who rose to prominence by lampooning President Vladimir Putin’s elite inner circle and alleging vast corruption, was sentenced in August to an additional 19 years in prison on top of the 11 and a half years he was already serving.
He denies all the charges against him, which he says were trumped up to silence him. The Kremlin says he is a convicted criminal and his case is a matter for the prison system.
Reuters