“We are deeply concerned about the whereabouts of Alexei Navalny, who has been missing in the Russian prison system for almost three weeks,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Network X (formerly Twitter).
“We once again call for his immediate release and an end to the ongoing repression of independent voices in Russia.”
On Monday, UN human rights expert Maryana Katsarova also expressed concern about Navalny’s “forced disappearance.”
According to Navalny’s press secretary Kira Yarmysh, the politician, according to the Federal Penitentiary Service, was taken from the colony to an unknown location on December 11, but his lawyers were not allowed to meet with him since December 6. He was not connected to the court hearings via video link, allegedly due to an “electrical accident” in IK-6.
The lack of information about Navalny’s whereabouts could mean he has been moved to a harsher prison, following a court decision earlier this year.
The transfer process may take several weeks, since in Russia prisoners are usually transported by rail.
Navalny’s team said his possible transfer to another prison was specifically timed to coincide with the expected re-election of President Vladimir Putin.
On December 16, the US State Department said it was deeply concerned about the health of jailed Russian opposition leader and Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny after his lawyers said they had not seen their client in more than a week.
“We have told the Russian government that they are responsible for what happens to Mr. Navalny, and they will be held accountable by the international community,” a State Department spokesman told Axios.
Alexei Navalny, 47, was barred from running in the 2018 election after a trumped-up fraud charge that his allies said was politically motivated. On August 4, 2023, the Moscow City Court sentenced Navalny to 19 years in a special regime colony on charges of creating and financing an extremist community.
