Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny, lacking, positioned within the Arctic | EUROtoday

” NOTWe found Navalny. » Kira Iarmych, spokesperson for Alexeï Navalny, whose relatives had not heard from him for almost three weeks, indicated this Monday, December 25 that the Russian opponent was in a penal colony in Kharp, in the ‘Russian Arctic. “He is in penal colony number 3 in the town of Kharp,” she said, adding that he was “fine” and that his lawyer had been able to visit him.

Kharp, a small town of around 5,000 inhabitants, is located in Yamalo-Nenetsia, a remote region in northern Russia. It lies beyond the Arctic Circle and several penal colonies are located there.

READ ALSO Where has Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny gone?Alexeï Navalny, anti-corruption activist and bête noire of Vladimir Putin, is serving a 19-year prison sentence for “extremism”. His relatives and collaborators had not heard from him since the beginning of December, which meant his probable transfer from the colony in the Vladimir region, 250 kilometers from Moscow, where he had until now been detained.

Navalny imprisoned beneath a “special regime”

According to the decision for “extremism” pronounced towards Navalny, the opponent should serve his sentence in a “special regime” colony, the class of institutions the place the circumstances of detention are the harshest and that are normally reserved for convicts. to life imprisonment and to probably the most harmful prisoners.

A “special regime” colony is positioned in Kharp, colony quantity 18 “Polar Owl”, though Navalny is at present detained in one other.

“From the start, it became clear that the authorities wanted to isolate Alexei, in particular before the presidential election” scheduled for March 2024, reacted on X one in every of his shut collaborators, Ivan Zhdanov.

Transfers from one penal colony to a different in Russia typically take a number of weeks of practice journey with phases, with detainees’ kinfolk not being heard from throughout this time.

This lack of stories regarding the opponent had aroused concern in a number of Western capitals and the UN.