Advocates and associates of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was ‘reported’ missing has located him at a remote prison with harsh conditions about 1,900 kilometres northeast of Moscow. Navalny’s associates lost contact with the leader about three weeks ago.
Navalny has been located in IK-3 in the settlement of Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said. “We have found Alexey @navalny. He is now in IK-3 in the settlement of Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. His lawyer visited him today. Alexey is doing well,” Yarmysh tweeted.
Navalny, the most prominent leader opposing Russian President Vladimir Putin, is serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism. He had been imprisoned in the Vladimir region of central Russia, about 230 kilometres (140 miles) east of Moscow, but his lawyers said they had not been able to reach him since December 6.
Ivan Zhdanov, Director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation founded by Navalny tweeted, “From the very beginning, it was clear that the authorities wanted to isolate Alexei, especially before the elections. His location was hidden. A complete block was placed on information about him,” Zhdanov tweeted.
Zhdanov said the prison was one of the northernmost and most remote colonies in general. “The conditions there are harsh, with a special regime in the permafrost zone,” Zhdanov tweeted. He added it is very difficult to get there, and there are no letter delivery systems FSIN-letter or Zonatelecom.
The United Nations had expressed concern about Navalny’s missing. United Nations special rapporteur for human rights in Russia, Mariana Katzarova, recently said that she is concerned about imprisoned Navalny after his legal team reported they have been unable to locate him since making contact 13 days ago.
-with PTI inputs.