Russia denounced this Tuesday the “unacceptable” interference of the United States in the case of Kremlin opponent Alexeï Navalny. Washington had announced that it was “very concerned” about the fact that those close to Alexeï Navalny have not heard from him for a week. “He should never have been imprisoned in the first place,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
The Kremlin denounced on Tuesday the “unacceptable” interference of the United States in the Alexeï Navalny case, Washington having said it was “very concerned” about the fact that the relatives of the imprisoned opponent have not heard from him for a week . “This is a prisoner who was found guilty (…) and who is serving the sentence he received. We consider that any interference, particularly on the part of the United States, is unacceptable,” he said. blasted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov.
Supporters of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny said Monday that they had been trying to contact him in vain for almost a week and did not know where he was. Washington reacted by saying it was “very concerned” by the lack of information regarding the whereabouts of Mr. Navalny, calling once again for his immediate release. “He should never have been imprisoned in the first place,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, adding that U.S. authorities were seeking to know more.
Convicted of “extremism”
For those close to Navalny, the fate of the opponent is directly decided in the Kremlin, which the anti-corruption activist accuses of having ordered his poisoning in 2020 which he survived. His spokesperson, Kira Iarmich, said Tuesday that an employee at the penal colony where Navalny was held until then “said that Alexei had ‘left their colony'”, without saying where he had been transferred. Navalny, who was sentenced in August to a new 19-year prison term for “extremism”, is to be sent to a penal colony with a “special regime”.
This category of establishments is renowned for having the harshest conditions of detention in the Russian prison system, and are often located in very isolated regions. However, the timetable for such a transfer is never communicated in advance. Transfers from one penal colony to another in Russia often take several weeks of train travel with stages, with detainees’ relatives not being heard from during this time.