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Russian authorities have criticized the United States Government for what it called “interference” in the case of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. It was recently reported that allies of the jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said that they had been unable to locate Navalny for six days, and that he had likely been transferred to another facility.
“We are talking about a prisoner who was found guilty by the law and is serving the prison sentence he received. Any interference, including from the US, is unacceptable,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Notably, Russia‘s huge prison system often takes weeks — or longer — to move prisoners between far-flung facilities by rail. Alexei Navalny also was also reported to be suffering from acute stomach ailments. Doctors and analysts had suggested that the Kremlin critic might have been ‘poisoned’ by Russian authorities.
Where is Alexei Navalny?
Alexei Navalny had been removed from the penal colony where he had been imprisoned since 2022, his allies said, adding that they were preparing for his expected transfer to a “special regime” colony after he was sentenced in August to an additional 19 years in prison.
Alexei Navalny had already been serving a 11-1/2 term.
Navalny is serving a 19-year prison sentence on extremism charges, and a court this summer ordered to move him to a harsher “special regime” prison colony.
Alexei Navalny’s disappearance came to limelight when staff at the IK-6 facility in Melekhovo had told Alexei Navalny’s lawyer that the opposition leader was no longer among its inmates.
“Today Alexei was again not brought to court to appear by video link, but now nobody is talking nonsense about an ‘electricity accident’. An employee of penal colony-6 stated that Alexei had ‘left their colony, but that he allegedly did not know where he had been transferred to,” she claimed.
Alexei Navalny’s disappearance comes as President Vladimir Putin announced he will run for a fifth term in March, intent on prolonging his long rule.
What US said on Alexei Navalny disappearance?
The United States said it was “deeply concerned” by reports that Navalny’s whereabouts were unknown and demanded he be released immediately.
“He’s now been gone for allegedly a week and neither his representatives or his family know where he is,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
“He should be released immediately, he should never have been jailed in the first place,” Kirby told journalists travelling with US President Joe Biden aboard Air Force One.
Kirby added that Washington was going to work with the US embassy in Moscow to look into Navalny’s possible location.
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Published: 12 Dec 2023, 04:31 PM IST
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