Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition politician, has been sent to a correctional colony in northern Russia’s Arctic region, his spokesperson claimed on Monday, after supporters had been unable to contact him for more than two weeks.
According to Kira Yarmysh, Navalny was located in the IK-3 prison colony in Kharp, in the Yamal-Nenets region, around 1,900 kilometers (1200 miles) northeast of Moscow. According to the spokesperson, Navalny’s attorney was able to meet him on Monday.
The associates of Navalny, who had been getting ready for his anticipated transfer to the worst prison grade in Russia — a “special regime” colony — stated that he hasn’t seen his attorneys since December 6 and expressed concern for his well-being.
“Many thanks to our supporters, activists, journalists and the media who are concerned about Alexei’s fate and who do not get tired of writing about the situation,” Navalny’s lawyer Ivan Zhdanov said.
Navalny, 47, is serving a sentence of more than 30 years in jail after being convicted of crimes including extremism, which his supporters say are politically motivated. He was apprehended in January 2021 after returning to Moscow from Germany, where he had been treated for what Western scientists alleged was nerve agent poisoning.
