Sunday, February 28, 2021
Before being transferred to a penal colony
Alexey Navalny's whereabouts have been clarified
Where did the Russian authorities take Alexei Navalny? That has been unclear for days. The only thing that was certain was that the Kremlin critic was no longer in a Moscow prison, but on his way to a prison camp. Now his whereabouts are known.
The Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny, imprisoned in Russia, has been brought to the Vladimir region, around 100 kilometers east of Moscow. "He will initially remain in quarantine and then be transferred to his penal colony," said Alexei Melnikov from the Interfax news agency's Commission for the Rights of Prisoners. The commission works closely with the prison administration and has access to inmates.
According to media reports, around 800 people are serving their sentences in the small town of Pokrov. The conditions are less harsh than in other camps.
Navalny's colleague Leonid Volkov had previously stated on social networks that Navalny's family and lawyers had not been officially informed of the Kremlin critic's whereabouts since Thursday. They only learned of his transfer from a Moscow prison.
Over two and a half years in prison
The currently best-known critic of Russia's President Vladimir Putin was sentenced to more than two and a half years in a prison camp for alleged violations of his probation conditions. The decision was strongly condemned internationally and sparked mass protests in Russia.
Navalny was hospitalized in Germany after a poison attack in August for which he blames the Kremlin. He was arrested immediately after returning to Russia in January.
The 44-year-old is considered the most important adversary of the Russian president. The opposition activist has been arrested several times and given short prison terms. His supporters criticize the judiciary's actions against him as politically motivated.
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