Current:Home > StocksImprisoned Russian opposition leader Navalny located in penal colony 3 weeks after contact lost -Wealth Nexus Pro
Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Navalny located in penal colony 3 weeks after contact lost
View
Date:2025-04-11 19:04:21
MOSCOW (AP) — Associates of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Monday that he has been located at a prison colony above the Arctic Circle nearly three weeks after contact with him was lost.
Navalny, the most prominent foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism. He had been imprisoned in the Vladimir region of central Russia, about 230 kilometers (140 miles) east of Moscow, but his lawyers said they had not been able to reach him since Dec. 6.
His spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, said on X, formerly Twitter, that he was located in a prison colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenetsk region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow.
Navalny is “doing well” and a lawyer visited him, Yarmysh said.
The region is notorious for long and severe winters; the town is near Vorkuta, whose coal mines were among the harshest of the Soviet Gulag prison-camp system.
“It is almost impossible to get to this colony; it is almost impossible to even send letters there. This is the highest possible level of isolation from the world,” Navalny’s chief strategist, Leonid Volkov, said on X.
Transfers within Russia’s prison system are shrouded in secrecy and inmates can disappear from contact for several weeks. Navalny’s team was particularly alarmed when he could not be found because he had been ill and reportedly was being denied food and kept in an unventilated cell.
Supporters believed he was deliberately being hidden after Putin announced his candidacy in Russia’s March presidential election. While Putin’s reelection is all but certain, given his overwhelming control over the country’s political scene and a widening crackdown on dissent, Navalny’s supporters and other critics hope to use the campaign to erode public support for the Kremlin leader and his military action in Ukraine.
Navalny has been behind bars in Russia since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Before his arrest, he campaigned against official corruption and organized major anti-Kremlin protests.
He has since received three prison terms and spent months in isolation in Penal Colony No. 6 for alleged minor infractions. He has rejected all charges against him as politically motivated.
veryGood! (781)
Related
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Dunkin': How you can get free donuts on Wednesdays and try new holiday menu items
- Man pleads not guilty to tossing pipe bombs at San Francisco police during chase after church attack
- D-backs’ Zac Gallen loses World Series no-hit bid on Corey Seager’s leadoff single in 7th inning
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- US Virgin Islands declares state of emergency after lead and copper found in tap water in St. Croix
- Who is Antonio Pierce? Meet the Raiders interim head coach after Josh McDaniels' firing
- Oprah's Favorite Things 2023: 25 Chic & Useful Gifts Under $50 For Everyone On Your List
- Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
- New Orleans swears in new police chief, Anne Kirkpatrick, first woman to permanently hold the role
Ranking
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- The Fed held interest rates steady — but the fight against inflation is not over yet
- D-backs’ Zac Gallen loses World Series no-hit bid on Corey Seager’s leadoff single in 7th inning
- Connecticut man gets 90 years in prison for stray-bullet killing of Olympian’s mom
- Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
- Netflix doc reveals how firefighter saved Jesus’ Crown of Thorns as Notre Dame blaze raged
- Israeli envoy to Russia says Tel Aviv passengers hid from weekend airport riot in terminal
- Robert De Niro yells at former assistant Graham Chase Robinson in courtroom as testimony gets heated
Recommendation
Travis Hunter, the 2
Delta says pilot accused of threatening to shoot the captain no longer works for the airline
Opposition mounts in Arab countries that normalized relations with Israel
Miami-Dade police officer charged in sexual abuse involving 3 children; attorney says he's innocent
Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
Meta will charge for ad-free versions of Facebook, Instagram in Europe after privacy ruling
Tesla's Autopilot not responsible for fatal 2019 crash in California, jury finds in landmark case
Kenya is raising passenger fares on a Chinese-built train as it struggles to repay record debts