2023-12-26 10:22:09
Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who was missing for weeks, appeared relieved following his arrival in the notorious “Polar Wolf” prison camp in the far north of Russia. “20 days on stage were pretty tiring, but my mood is still excellent,” said the 47-year-old in a letter published on social networks on Tuesday. In Russia, “on stage” refers to the transfer of prisoners to a penal camp.
Navalny’s team announced on Monday that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s opponent had been found by a lawyer in the IK-3 camp in Charp in the Arctic Circle following a long search. “I didn’t expect anyone to find me here before mid-January,” Navalny said. He thanked his team of lawyers and supporters who had been looking for him in various detention centers and prison camps for weeks. “I’m fine,” he wrote. “I’m so happy that I’ve finally arrived.”
Navalny was confident that he was in good spirits, he said via short message service X on Tuesday following his arrival at the penal colony in Yamal-Nenets. He also confirmed contacts with his lawyer Ivan Zhdanov.
The prison camp is located almost 2,000 kilometers from Moscow and is considered one of the toughest prisons in Russia. Zhdanov had thanked supporters, activists, journalists and media for caring regarding Navalny’s fate and for not tiring of reporting on the situation. There had been no trace of the well-known Kremlin critic for 20 days. His team and lawyers had launched a search operation.
The USA was pleased with the sign of life. “We welcome the reports that Mr. Navalny has been located. However, we remain deeply concerned regarding Mr. Navalny’s well-being and the conditions of his unjustified detention,” a US State Department spokesman said. “We have let the Russian government know that it is responsible for what happens to Mr. Navalny in its custody.”
After initial contact with Navalny, his colleague Ivan Zhdanov said: “He’s OK.” The conditions in the prison camp are “brutal”. There is permafrost and it is very difficult to get there; no letters would be delivered to the camp either. It was clear from the start that Moscow’s power apparatus wanted to isolate Navalny before the presidential election on March 17th.
Navalny, who was sentenced to 19 years in prison for alleged extremism, among other things, repeatedly files lawsuits once morest the prison system for violating his rights. He uses the court appearances to criticize Putin’s authoritarian system. Recently he was no longer involved in the negotiations.
Navalny is in poor health
The whereregardings of the Russian president’s fiercest opponent had been unknown since the beginning of December. There was also great concern for the 47-year-old because he is in poor health. During court proceedings, prison employees only said that Navalny was no longer in the IK-6 prison camp, regarding 260 kilometers east of Moscow.
“Although today is also Christmas, the fact that we found Alexei on this day is not a Christmas miracle, but the enormous and meticulous work of the lawyers of the Anti-Corruption Fund,” said Yulia Navalnaya, the opposition activist’s wife, on Instagram with. She also published an older selfie of herself with her husband from happier days.
As recently as Monday, Russia’s highest court claimed that Navalny’s whereregardings were unknown, said Zhdanov, who heads the anti-corruption fund in exile. There was a complete information blockade. Navalny’s lawyers sent out more than 600 requests and “searched” all pre-trial detention centers to find him.
Imprisoned for almost three years
The Kremlin opponents around Navalny also started the “Russia without Putin” campaign at the beginning of December, with which they called on voters before the presidential election to express their protest by voting for other candidates. Putin is taking part in the vote for the fifth time, and possible competitors are considered to have no chance.
Navalny, who also survived an assassination attempt with the nerve agent Novichok in 2020, has been in prison for almost three years. He was internationally recognized as a political prisoner. The USA, the EU and the federal government have repeatedly expressed concern in recent weeks and called on the Russian leadership to provide information regarding Navalny’s whereregardings.
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