U.N. professional expresses concern as Russian opposition chief Navalny disappears in jail system

LONDON — The United Nations’ particular rapporteur for human rights in Russia stated Monday that she is worried about imprisoned Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny after his authorized workforce and allies reported they’ve been unable to find him since making contact 13 days in the past.

Navalny‘s allies said he failed to appear in court as expected Monday and they were still searching for him in Russia‘s extensive prison system.

Navalny‘s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Navalny had multiple hearings scheduled, some of which were suspended since the unknown location of the politician who is President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe precluded his participation in particular person or by video hyperlink.

Special Rapporteur Mariana Katzarova, an unbiased professional who reviews on human rights in Russia for the U.N., stated she was “greatly concerned that the Russian authorities will not disclose Mr. Navalny’s whereabouts and well-being for such a prolonged period of time.”

The scenario quantities to an “enforced disappearance,” Katzarova stated.

The whereabouts of Navalny, 47, have been unknown since his legal professionals misplaced contact with him after Dec. 6. They consider he’s intentionally being hidden after Putin introduced his candidacy in Russia‘s March presidential election, which the longtime leader is almost certain to win.

“Alexei is Putin’s important opponent despite the fact that his identify received’t be on the poll,” Yarmysh, Navalny’s spokesperson advised The Associated Press. “They will do everything they can to isolate him.”

Navalny’s workforce has launched a marketing campaign to encourage Russians to boycott the election or vote for an additional candidate.

Allies stated a protection lawyer was advised in courtroom on Dec. 15 that Navalny had been moved from the penal colony east of Moscow the place he was serving a 19-year time period on costs of extremism, however the lawyer was not advised the place Navalny was taken.

Yarmysh advised the AP that Navalny‘s team had written to more than 200 pretrial detention centers and special prison colonies as well as checked all detention centers in Moscow in person in order to find the opposition leader.

Although a judge suspended Monday’s courtroom proceedings for an indefinite interval after Navalny couldn’t be positioned, that doesn’t imply judicial officers will discover him, Yarmysh stated.

“The court simply relieved itself of responsibility for administering justice,” she stated.

Navalny’s allies sounded the alarm after his legal professionals weren’t let into Penal Colony No. 6, the jail about 230 kilometers (140 miles) east of Moscow the place he was serving his sentence, after Dec. 6. The legal professionals additionally stated that letters to him weren’t being delivered there and that Navalny was not showing at scheduled courtroom hearings through video hyperlink.

Yarmysh stated earlier this month that these developments induced concern as a result of Navalny had lately fallen in poor health and apparently fainted “out of hunger.” She stated he was being “deprived of food, kept in a cell without ventilation and has been offered minimal outdoor time.”

He was as a consequence of be transferred to a “special security” penal colony, a facility with the best safety stage within the Russian penitentiary system.

Russian jail transfers are infamous for taking a very long time, typically weeks, throughout which there’s no entry to prisoners, with details about their whereabouts restricted or unavailable. Navalny may very well be transferred to any of plenty of such penal colonies throughout Russia.

Navalny has been behind bars in Russia since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Before his arrest, he campaigned in opposition to official corruption and arranged main anti-Kremlin protests.

He has since acquired three jail phrases and spent months in isolation in Penal Colony No. 6 for alleged minor infractions. He has rejected all costs in opposition to him as politically motivated.