from the foreign editorial team
Putin's opponent is in Charp, in an Arctic region of Russia. His lawyer managed to talk to him in an interview: they wanted to hide him from the election campaign
Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponent, has been moved to a penal colony in an Arctic region in northern Russia. His spokesperson Kira Yarmysh made the announcement today, December 25, with a post on X/Twitter in which she clarified that Alexei is doing well. For more than two weeks, his staff had no news of his whereabouts. Navalny was tracked down at the IK-3 penal colony in Charp in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, about 1,200 miles (1,900 km) northeast of Moscow.
The city is near Vorkuta, whose coal mines were part of one of the Soviet Gulag system's most notorious labor camps. His lawyer managed to meet him for an interview this morning. Leonid Volkov, one of Navalny's closest allies, commented: It is the most isolated place in the world. It was almost impossible to reach this penal colony, it was almost impossible to send letters there.
The opponent's aides, who were preparing for his planned transfer to a special colony – the harshest punishment in the Russian prison system – said his lawyers had not been able to contact him since December 6 and raised the alarm about his fate. “Many thanks to our supporters, activists, journalists and media who are worried about Alexei’s fate and never tire of writing about the situation,” Navalny’s lawyer Ivan Zhdanov wrote again in X.
We found it, the lawyer begins in his contribution. And he says it was clear from the start that authorities wanted to isolate Alexei, especially ahead of the election. He then added that he and his staff sent out 618 requests for information about the new colony to which Navalny, who was imprisoned in a penal colony 235 km (145 miles) east of Moscow, was moved. He claims authorities gave him false information more than once. He then concludes: Alexei's situation is a clear example of how the system treats political prisoners and tries to isolate and repress them. But we continue our fight. Thank you very much. Freedom for Navalny.
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December 25, 2023 (modified December 25, 2023 | 4:15 p.m.)
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