More than six days without hearing from him and after he did not appear at an online hearing, the lawyers of Putin's main opponent announced that they do not know “of his whereabouts,” even though they have searched for him in other penitentiary colonies. The staff of the prison where he was kept assured that he is no longer in the facilities, and in other facilities they assure that he “is not on the list” of transferred inmates. From Washington they claim to be “deeply concerned” about the situation.
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The whereabouts of Vladimir Putin's opponent are unknown. This Monday, December 11, the officials of the penitentiary colony where he was held announced to Navalny's defense that he was no longer on the list of prisoners.
The site's spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, published several times on X that for several days Navalny's lawyers have been trying to access two penal colonies near Moscow where their client could be; However, the answer on all occasions was that the political leader was in the IK-6 or IK-7 penal colonies; But Navalny was last imprisoned in the IK-6 colony east of Moscow.
Prison officials “refuse to say where they moved him,” Kira Yarmysh said in messages on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Today, as on Friday, the lawyers tried to get to IK-6 and IK-7 — two colonies in the Vladimir region where Alexey @navalny might be. They have just been informed simultaneously in both colonies that he is not there.
We still don't know where Alexey is.
— Кира Ярмыш (@Kira_Yarmysh) December 11, 2023
Yarmysh also claimed that one of Navalny's lawyers, who was waiting at another prison facility where he could possibly be held, was informed that there were no records of him “anywhere.”
In Russia, although long transfers are common, with several protocol processes that can last several weeks and where the prisoners' information is almost confidential, in Navalny's case it was known about his possible transfer to a “special security” penal colony. ”, a center with the highest level of security in the Russian prison system.
Part of the reason that upset the authorities was the fact that Navalny had to appear in court by videoconference, an appointment that he could not keep.
At that time the lawyers also reported that more than six days had passed since the last time they had information about him.
Alexei Navalny, opposition leader in Russia, was sentenced to 19 years in prison for extremism
Navalny, who is currently suffering from serious health problems, was sentenced to 19 years in prison in August after a judge found him guilty of organizing, creating and leading an extremist community, which also allegedly financed extremist activities.
Prior to this, he was already sentenced to 11 and a half years for fraud and other charges, a sentence that he was already serving in a maximum security facility.
At 47 years old, the political leader who had already been behind bars since January 2021, campaigned against official corruption and organized large protests against the Kremlin, something that gave him the direct position of a staunch enemy of Vladimir Putin.
![FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, file photo, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, center, attends a rally in Moscow, Russia. Navalny, who is President Vladimir Putin's biggest political enemy, has been in prison for various crimes since 2021.](https://s.france24.com/media/display/e164bd4c-988b-11ee-b431-005056a90284/AP23250654215705.jpg)
Analysts and sympathizers of the political leader have said that his disappearance could be linked to a movement by Vladimir Putin after his announcement of presidential re-election in 2024, just when the only consolidated opponent in Russian territory was precisely Navalny, after unexplained expulsions of other Kremlin opponents who were planning a presidential run for next year.
With AP and Reuters.
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