Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is seen on a TV screen as he appears in a video link from the prison colony in Melekhovo, Vladimir region, during a hearing at the Russian Supreme Court in Moscow, Russia, on August 23, 2023. © Alexander Zemlianichenko, AP
Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been removed from a prison near Moscow and taken to an undisclosed location, his spokeswoman said Friday, citing a court representative.
Supporters of Navalny, who was jailed in 2021 after surviving a poisoning assassination attempt, have sounded the alarm since early this month, when the Kremlin critic was last seen.
Kira Yarmysh said she was told that Navalny, serving a 19-year sentence, was removed from the Vladimir region near Moscow on December 11, signalling a potential prison transfer.
"It is not known where exactly" he was taken, Yarmysh added.
"I want to remind you that lawyers have not seen Alexei since December 6. Why they were not allowed to meet with him, if Alexei was still in IK-6, we do not know," she said, referring to the penal colony where he was last seen.
The Kremlin this week criticized what it called "interference" by the United States in the case after Washington said it was "deeply concerned" by Navalny's team saying they have had no access to him for almost a week.
Navalny is serving the long jail term on extremism charges, and a court this summer ruled that he be moved to a more secure, harsh prison.
(AFP)