“The trial is postponed until the whereabouts are confirmed.”
A Russian court has temporarily suspended the trial of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who disappeared while in prison.
The Russian court announced on the 18th (local time), “We will suspend the hearing of seven cases until Navalny’s whereabouts are confirmed.”
Navalny failed to appear at the trial scheduled for this day as well as on the 11th.
He has been missing since the 6th, two days before Russian President Vladimir Putin formalized his candidacy for next year’s presidential election.
His lawyers contacted IK-6 (No. 6) prison outside Vladimir near Moscow, where he was imprisoned, but were only informed that he had been transferred. He could not obtain information such as the time and location of the surveillance. The lawyers also contacted about 200 detention centers to seek information on Navalny’s whereabouts, but have not yet found him.
The Kremlin has not responded to questions about Navalny’s whereabouts.
The United Nations is raising the possibility that Navalny’s disappearance may be a ‘forced disappearance (secret kidnapping by the state).’
Mariana Kazarova, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Russia, said, “The Russian authorities’ failure to disclose Navalny’s whereabouts and well-being for a long period of time amounts to an enforced disappearance,” adding, “It is very concerning.”
Navalny was serving a total sentence of more than 30 years in prison on charges of fraud and extremism.
In 2020, he received treatment in Germany after showing symptoms of Novichok poisoning, a nerve agent used in Russia during the Soviet Union, and despite dissuasion from those around him, he returned to Korea the following year and was immediately arrested. He was subsequently sentenced to 11 years and 6 months in prison for fraud and other charges, and last August, he received an additional 19 years in prison for extremism and other charges.
His supporters fear that his arrest and detention are politically motivated and that he will not be released while Putin is in power. Navalny reportedly suffered from an unknown gastrointestinal illness during his imprisonment.
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.