His associates and lawyers have had no news about the imprisoned leader of the Russian opposition, Alexei Navalny, for 10 days.

Navalny moved to December 11th from the premises of the IK-6 colony in the city of Melekhovo, 235 kilometers east of Moscow to another prison, in a “special status” colonythe harshest prison classification in Russia’s prison system

However, the Russian authorities have not informed about what was transferred.

His partners have been able to see him since December 6 and they said today that his whereabouts are still unclear.

“Where he was taken is not known,” Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Jarmis said. “Let me remind you that the 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.”

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday, December 11, that the Washington she is very concerned about the psycho-physical condition of Navalny and reminded the Russian authorities that they are responsible for whatever happens to him.

The Kremlin, which has said it does not monitor the movements of individual prisoners, told Miller and his colleagues to mind their own business.

Asked today if the Kremlin has any information about what is happening to Navalny, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “No. I repeat again: we do not have the ability, or the right, or the desire, to monitor the fate of those prisoners who are serving court-ordered sentences”.

Nelson Mandela of Russia

Navalny, a former lawyer who became best known for his criticism of the elite around President Vladimir Putin and his allegations of widespread corruption, was sentenced in August to an additional 19 years in prison on top of the 11.5 years he was already serving.

Navalny won the admiration of the motley opposition when he voluntarily returned to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he had been treated for an attempt to poison him, as Western laboratory tests showed, with a nerve agent.

Navalny says he was poisoned in Siberia in August 2020. The Kremlin has denied trying to kill him and said there is no evidence he was poisoned with a nerve agent.
His supporters see Navalny as the Russian version of South Africa’s Nelson Mandela who will one day be released from prison to lead his country.

But Russian authorities consider him and his supporters to be extremists with links to the US spy agency CIA who seek to destabilize Russia. They have outlawed his movement, forcing many of his supporters to flee abroad.