Five Russian opposition activists transferred to unknown location
In Russia, at least five imprisoned opposition figures have been transferred to unknown locations. Among them are opposition politicians and activists who had protested against the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, according to lawyers and human rights organizations.
Transfers in the Russian penal system are generally opaque, but the simultaneous disappearance of several imprisoned opposition figures is very rare. Lawyers for the imprisoned opposition politician Ilya Yashin announced on Tuesday via his Telegram channel that Yashin had been moved from his penal colony in the Smolensk region in western Russia to an "unknown location."
Relatives of Lilia Chanishvili and XeniaFadeyeva also reported that the two former employees of the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who died in a labor camp, had been transferred. Prison officials refused to answer their lawyers' questions about their whereabouts or the reason for the transfer.
Oleg Orlov, co-chair of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization, was also reportedly transferred to an unknown location by the human rights organization Memorial. The whereabouts of the artist Alexandra Skochilenko, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for replacing price tags in a supermarket with anti-offensive messages, are also unknown.
"Apparently, we are witnessing a large-scale prisoner swap," wrote the Russian political scientist Tatiana Stanovaya, who lives in exile, on her Telegram channel. The US is negotiating with Russia for a prisoner swap to secure the release of US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison in July.
While the situation in Russian prisons remains uncertain, there have been reports of several prominent opposition figures being transferred to unknown locations. Notably, the United States of America is currently engaging in negotiations with Russia for a prisoner swap, aiming to secure the release of US journalist Evan Gershkovich.
