Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been mysteriously removed from the penal colony where he was imprisoned, with his current location undisclosed, his team reported on Monday. Navalny, already serving an 11-1/2 year sentence, was recently given an additional 19 years in a “special regime” colony, Russia’s strictest prison type. His spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, revealed that the IK-6 facility in Melekhovo confirmed Navalny’s absence, stating, “Where they have taken him, they refuse to say.”
This development coincides with the beginning of Russia’s presidential election campaign, where Vladimir Putin has announced his candidacy for another term. Navalny’s aide, Leonid Volkov, sees the timing as “0% coincidence and 100% direct manual political control from the Kremlin,” emphasizing Putin’s awareness of Navalny as his main electoral opponent.
The Kremlin, maintaining its policy of not directly acknowledging Navalny, offered no immediate comment. The transfer process across Russia’s vast territory often leaves families in the dark about prisoners’ whereabouts for weeks.
Despite his imprisonment, Navalny has continued to criticize the Kremlin and Putin, particularly over the Ukraine war, through social media posts conveyed by his lawyers. However, his isolation intensified after the arrest of three of his lawyers in October. Navalny, a prominent critic of Putin, has dismissed all charges against him as politically motivated, while Russian authorities label him and his supporters as extremists linked to Western intelligence. Putin has sternly warned against any Western interference in Russian affairs.
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