Concern for Navalny’s health
No sign of life from Putin’s most influential opponent
December 9, 2023, 3:09 p.m
Internationally, Alexei Navalny is recognized as the most influential opposition figure against Putin. As of 2021, he has been sentenced to over 30 years in prison. He usually participates in his trials via video. Now suddenly not anymore. His supporters fear for his life.
The team of the imprisoned Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny says they still have no sign of life from the 47-year-old, who is in poor health. There is still no news, said Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysch. The lawyer for President Vladimir Putin’s opponent has been trying to contact him in the prison camp for five days. However, the lawyer was not allowed to see him.
Navalny’s team raised the alarm on Friday after the opposition figure was not connected via video as usual during court hearings. Prison employees had explained the failure of a video link due to a lack of power, as Navalny’s team announced. The worries about Navalny are particularly great because he became sick in his cell last week, Yarmysch said on the short message service X.
Letters from or to Navalny have not been delivered for a week. Navalny is in a prison camp in the city of Kovrov in the Vladimir region, around 260 kilometers east of Moscow. Despite his imprisonment, he is considered the most influential opposition politician against Putin.
In August 2020, the most famous opposition politician was almost killed in a poison attack. He had to be quickly flown to a special clinic in Germany. Doctors at the Berlin Charite treated him for weeks and fought for his life. Despite warnings, he tried to re-enter Russia in January 2021. He was arrested at the airport and has since been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison. Internationally he is considered a political prisoner.