Where is Alexei Navalny? There is still no trace of the imprisoned Kremlin critic. However, the Kremlin shows little interest in clarification.
Moscow – The fear about Alexei Navalny continues: The imprisoned Kremlin critic has been missing for days. Apparently the opposition activist was transferred from the Vladimir penal camp. But where to? Not clear. Missing since December 6th every sign of life from the 47-year-old, who is in poor health. Is he alive? Is he dead?
In any case, the Kremlin is not providing any answers. The presidential office of Russia's head of state Wladimir Putin announced on Friday (December 15) that nothing was known about Navalny's whereabouts. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov then added loudly Mirror when asked: “No. I repeat: we have no ability, right or desire to follow the fate of prisoners serving sentences based on a court decision.”
Where is Alexei Navalny? Family waits for signs of life from missing Putin opponent
But Navalny is not just any convict. He is internationally classified as a political prisoner and has been sentenced to 19 years in a prison camp. But where is he? He was most recently in prison in the city of Kovrov in the Vladimir region, around 260 kilometers east of Moscow. But he is said to have been moved from there on December 11th. A court has now confirmed that Navalny should no longer be in the Vladimir region and should be moved to a detention center with stricter conditions. “But we still don’t know where he is,” Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysch said on Friday.
Is he still alive – or is he dead? Navalny's team hopes for good news
Transfers from one prison to another take time Russia often several weeks. Lawyers and relatives often do not receive any news about the whereabouts and well-being of the prisoners until they arrive. Five days before the transfer, Navalny's contact with his support team and his lawyers was lost. “It is unclear why they were no longer allowed to meet him,” said spokeswoman Jarmysch. Since then, his supporters have been trying to find out the whereabouts of Putin's opponent.
The opposition members around Navalny started the “Russia without Putin” campaign last week, with which they are calling on voters to express their protest by voting for other candidates before the presidential election on March 17th. To do this, they even manipulated QR codes on billboards in Moscow. Putin is taking part in the vote for the fifth time, and possible competitors are considered to have no chance.
Navalny's team, which works from abroad, had raised the alarm for the first time the previous week after the opposition figure was not connected via video as usual during court hearings. Prison employees had explained the failure of a video link due to a lack of power, as Navalny's team announced. Now it is at least confirmed that that was a lie.
Navalny sick: After being poisoned, the Kremlin critic is still suffering from the consequences to this day
Concerns about Navalny are also great because he is in poor health and has been repeatedly calling for medical help for a long time. Among other things, suffers Navalny is still suffering from the consequences of a poisoning that the Russian secret service could be behind.
Actions for Navalny are planned in several German cities this weekend (December 16th/17th) as part of a nationwide campaign. The French Foreign Ministry also said it was very worrying that they had not heard anything about the sick Navalny for days. The opposition activist's health has deteriorated drastically since his imprisonment began. Russia is responsible for the health of its prisoners. Paris demanded that all political prisoners be released immediately. The federal government, the USA and the EU had also expressed concern about his disappearance. (jeki with dpa)
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