Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been transferred to a penal colony on Friday. Navalny was poisoned in August 2020 by a nerve agent. Navalny returned to Russia in January, when he was detained by the police at Moscow airport. The lawyer and Kremlin’s fiercest critic has been in detention ever since.
Navalny is expected to serve more than two years at the penal colony, the head of Russia's prison service told news AFP.
“He has been transferred to where he is supposed to be under the court ruling," state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Alexander Kalashnikov, the head of the Federal Prison Service, as saying.
The location of the penal colony hasn’t been revealed. Even when in prison, Navalny managed to rattle President Putin. He had his supporters release a video of an extravagant palace near the Black Sea, accusing Putin of corruption. at the penal colony, detainees are often kept in dormitories and divided into groups and they can work if they wish to. Navalny’s family will be informed of the location of the penal colony after ten days.
The Kremlin has portrayed Navalny as unpatriotic. Navalny, ever since his detention, has been accused of slandering a world war veteran and of embezzlement.
