Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a political opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has disappeared while in prison, his lawyers said on the 11th (local time).
According to foreign media such as CNN and the Guardian, Navalny did not appear at the court’s video hearing scheduled for this day, and has not been contacted for almost a week.
“Unfortunately, we do not yet know anything about his location,” Kira Yarmysh, Navalny’s spokeswoman, told the Guardian on this day. “It has been six days since the lawyers have not seen Alexei,” he said.
His lawyers made several attempts to gain access to the IK-6 and IK-7 prisons where he is believed to be being held, but were told that Navalny was no longer there. IK-6 Melehovo prison, on the outskirts of Vladimir near Moscow, was where he was last seen.
Navalny was serving a sentence of 11 years and 6 months in prison on charges including fraud. And last August he was sentenced to 19 years in prison on other charges. His supporters say Navalny is being unfairly imprisoned for political purposes and fear he will not be released while Putin is in power.
Navalny also received treatment in Germany after falling into a coma after being poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent, on an airplane in 2020. Despite the dissuasion of those around him, he was detained immediately after returning to Korea in January 2021. CNN and independent European media outlet Bellingcat raised the possibility of involvement of the Russian Security Service (FSB) in a joint investigation, but the Russian government denied this.
Moreover, concerns are growing as it is known that Navalny is currently in poor health.
Foreign media outlets are paying attention to the fact that the time Navalny’s whereabouts became unclear was just before President Putin’s official candidacy for the presidential election.
The Guardian pointed out, “It is possible that the Russian government will try to silence Navalny before the election campaign and cut him off from his supporters.”
At an event commemorating ‘Heroes of the Fatherland Day’ on the 8th, President Putin announced his intention to run for president in March next year. President Putin still has close to 80% approval, so his chances of winning are high. If he succeeds in his fifth term, he will remain in power for six more years until 2030.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.