Alexey Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition leader, has been located in a penal colony in the Arctic after his disappearance for over two weeks, according to allies. The news of his whereabouts came after his lawyer visited him at IK-3 in the settlement of Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. Navalny was previously imprisoned in the Vladimir region of central Russia but had been unreachable since December 6. Transfers within the Russian prison system are often secretive, and inmates can go without contact for extended periods. The IK-3 penal colony where Navalny is now being held, nicknamed “Polar Wolf,” is known to be one of the most remote and northernmost colonies. The conditions there are harsh, with a special regime in the permafrost zone. Navalny, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, is serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges. He has faced multiple prison terms and isolation in the past, all of which he claims are politically motivated. Supporters of Navalny suspect that his disappearance might have been an intentional act following Putin’s announcement of his candidacy for Russia’s upcoming presidential election. The United States and the European Union have called for Navalny’s release, condemning his convictions as politically motivated, and expressing deep concern about his whereabouts. Secretary Antony Blinken urged for Navalny’s immediate release and an end to the repression of independent voices in Russia.
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Alexey Navalny, a Kremlin critic, located in Arctic prison after 2-week disappearance.
