2023-12-12 21:57:00
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Given the news that Aleksei Navalnyprominent Russian opposition political activist and prisoner of conscienceof He is not officially listed among the inmates of the prison colony where he was serving an unjust sentence of 19 years in prison.and that his fate and whereabouts are unknown, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s deputy director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:
“As if the attempted poisoning, jail and inhumane detention conditions were not enough, Aleksei Navalny could now have been subjected to enforced disappearance. In his determination to eliminate those who criticize him, the Kremlin will stop at nothing.”
“The persecution of Aleksei Navalny is politically motivated and is retaliation for his peaceful political activism; “He is a prisoner of conscience and must be released immediately and unconditionally.”
Russian authorities have refused to provide information on the fate and whereabouts of Aleksei Navalny since the last time his lawyers heard from him, on December 5. Although there is a possibility that he is in transit to another penal colony – something that Amnesty International has documented as one of the most cruel and inhuman practices that the Russian authorities reserve for prisoners – the authorities have the obligation to promptly provide information on all prisoner transfers. However, in Russia, these transfers can last for weeks without any information being provided to families, and almost always endanger the health and well-being of those affected by exposing them to ill-treatment and harassment.
“Navalny has already been subjected to conditions which amounts to torture and other ill-treatment during the period he has been in custody, and this situation only increases the risks he runs. He is unfairly assigned to the strictest possible confinement regime, subjected to long periods of isolation, and his health is deteriorating. The persecution of Aleksei Navalny is politically motivated and is retaliation for his peaceful political activism; He is a prisoner of conscience and must be released immediately and unconditionally. The Russian authorities must urgently reveal his fate and whereabouts,” concluded Denis Krivosheev.
Additional information
On the night of December 11, officials at the IK-6 Melekhovo penal colony in the Vladimir region (about 250 kilometers east of Moscow) informed Aleksei Navalny’s lawyer that the prisoner was no longer in the institution. Navalny’s press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, stated that they had refused to reveal his new location.
Aleksei Navalny was scheduled to appear by videoconference in the court hearings on his claim against the colony for his detention conditions, but this has not been the case since December 7supposedly due to an electrical fault.
This same month, Aleksei Navalny was to be transferred to the “unified criminal confinement cell,” where he was to remain for 12 months, the most serious prolonged disciplinary measure in the Russian prison system, due to his alleged violations of prison rules. Persists the concern for your health. Prolonged harsh solitary confinement and lack of adequate health care constitute torture and other ill-treatment.
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