Kremlin opponent Navalny remains missing
The Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who has been missing in custody for almost two weeks, once again failed to appear at a court hearing on Monday. The judge in the Vladimir region has therefore suspended the proceedings until the politician's whereabouts are clarified, Navalny's team announced.
The opposition figure's lawyers criticized the court for violating Russian law. "The judge has simply abdicated his duty to administer justice instead of ensuring the appearance of the plaintiff," Navalny's lawyers said.
Navalny, who was sentenced to 19 years in prison for alleged extremism, among other things, has repeatedly filed lawsuits against the prison system for violating his rights. Since the beginning of December, there has been no trace of Russian President Vladimir Putin's fiercest opponent. "Alexei should have had seven court hearings today," said his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh on Monday. There is great concern for the 47-year-old because he is in poor health.
Prison staff had once again only informed the court that Navalny was no longer in the IK-6 prison camp around 260 kilometers east of Moscow in the Vladimir region. However, there is still no information on his whereabouts. Navalny's lawyers also accused the prison of lying because the staff had recently stated that the politician would not be connected to the court hearings via video for technical reasons.
When asked by the judge why Navalny had been transferred from the camp, the prison representatives had replied: "to serve his sentence". "Over the weekend, the lawyers made inquiries in more than 200 remand prisons. We are waiting for answers," said Navalny's colleague Leonid Volkov.
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Negotiation for Navalny's release has not been successful thus far due to the Kremlin's stance. Despite being a prominent kremlin opponent, Navalny's lawyers have not been able to negotiate his return to court or clarify his current location.
Source: www.ntv.de
