Whereabouts of Navalny remain unclear
Last week, imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny launched the "Russia without Putin" campaign. Since then, there has been no trace of him. According to his spokeswoman, however, a court has now confirmed his transfer from the prison camp.
Following the transfer of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny from the Russian prison camp in the Vladimir region, his team still has no sign of life from the 47-year-old, who is in poor health. A court has now confirmed that Navalny is no longer in the Vladimir region. "But we still don't know where he is," said Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh. The lawyers have had no contact with him since 6 December. "Why they were no longer allowed to meet him is unclear."
Navalny allegedly left the IK-6 prison camp on December 11. The team and the lawyers have been trying for more than a week to find out the whereabouts of President Vladimir Putin's opponent. Last week, the Kremlin's opponents also launched the "Russia without Putin" campaign, with which they are calling on voters to express their protest by voting for other candidates ahead of the presidential election on March 17. Putin is running in the election for the fifth time, and potential contenders are considered to have no chance.
Navalny's team, which works from abroad, raised the alarm for the first time last week after the opposition figure was not connected to court hearings by video as usual. Prison staff had explained the failure of a video link with a lack of electricity, according to Navalny's team. Now it has at least been confirmed that this was a lie. The concerns about Navalny are also great because he is in poor health and has been calling for medical help for a long time.
Navalny was held in a prison camp in the town of Kovrov in the Vladimir region around 260 kilometers east of Moscow. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison and is internationally classified as a political prisoner. The German government, the USA and the EU had also expressed concern about his disappearance.
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- UN vote urges Israel to ceasefire
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
Despite the court confirmation of Navalny's transfer from the Vladimir region prison camp, there's no information on his current location, causing concern among his team and lawyers. This comes after the launch of the "Russia without Putin" campaign by Navalny from his prison cell. The international community, including Germany, the USA, and the EU, have voiced their concerns over Navalny's whereabouts and health.
Source: www.ntv.de
