Russia: where did Alexei Navalny go, missing for a week?

Where is Alexei Navalny? Imprisoned in Russia since January 2021, Vladimir Putin’s most prominent opponent disappeared from the radar a week ago. Sentenced in August to 19 years in prison for “extremism” – on top of the eleven years he was already serving – Alexei Navalny was to be transferred to a “special regime” penal colony, the most restrictive level of the Russian prison system. Nobody seems to know where he is today.

His family says they haven’t heard from him for seven days. An employee of the penal colony IK-6, where he is still being held, told his lawyers that Alexei Navalny “left (him).” “But he apparently didn’t know where he was transferred,” the opponent’s press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, said on X (ex-Twitter) on Tuesday.

“We don’t know where he is now. It could be any special regime colony, and there are about 30 of them in Russia, throughout Russia,” she told Reuters. “We will try to go around all the colonies and find him.”

US ‘very concerned’

On Monday, the US said it was “very concerned” about the situation with Alexei Navalny. “He should never have been jailed in the first place,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, adding that US authorities were seeking to learn more.

“Russian political leaders are responsible for his safety and health in prison and they will be held accountable for their actions,” European diplomacy chief Josep Borel said on Tuesday.

In response, Moscow condemned Washington’s “unacceptable” interference in this issue. Russian authorities have assured that they do not know where Alexei Navalny is. “We have neither the intention nor the ability to monitor the fate of prisoners and the process of their stay in the relevant institutions,” the Kremlin said, according to comments published by the Russian press RIA Novosti.

Trip for several weeks

If Alexei Navalny is transferred, his loved ones will likely have to be patient. A 2017 report by the non-governmental organization Amnesty International revealed the harsh conditions of these transports, which take place on crowded, windowless, Soviet-era trains. Because correctional facilities are typically located in remote areas, prisoners are often sent several thousand miles away. In the case of stages, the journey can take weeks.

“During these long journeys, prisoners are unable to communicate with the outside world, and authorities refuse to reveal their whereabouts. They actually disappear for weeks, even months,” explained Denis Krivosheev, Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International.

This is exactly what happened to Ildar Dadine in 2016. His family and lawyer were not informed until a month later, during which time they received no news from him.

“Putin’s paranoia”

The fact that the transfer of Alexei Navalny occurs in the midst of the presidential campaign in Russia cannot be a “coincidence,” but indicates “direct political control of the Kremlin,” Volkov and Navalny’s right-hand man Leonid condemned at X Volkov. “Putin knows very well who his main opponent is these years. elections. And he wants to make sure that Navalny’s voice is not heard,” he added.

Vladimir Putin announced his candidacy for the presidential elections in Russia on Friday, March 17. Alexis Navalny’s teams launched a large-scale billboard campaign calling for votes against the Russian president.

According to ICN business school geopolitics professor and former Russian diplomat Alexander Melnik, Vladimir Putin “is not interested in getting rid of Navalny in the middle of an election campaign, because we have never talked about him as much as after his disappearance.” . But he also suggests that we should not underestimate the “irrationality” and “paranoia” of the Russian president: “Even if he is confident of winning the presidential election, he must have been extremely angry when he saw Navalny appearing again on the campaign trail, and maybe… gave the order to silence him. »

“This says a lot about Putin’s dictatorial regime, which eliminates all opposition extremely cruel, even if he poses no danger,” he concludes.