Lawyers for ALEXEY NAVALNY on Monday said they have lost contact with the jailed Russian opposition leader, who was believed to be imprisoned in a penal colony about 150 miles east of Moscow, and his whereabouts are unknown.
NAVALNY was sentenced to 19 years in prison in August, after he was found guilty of creating an extremist community, financing extremist activities and numerous other crimes.
He was already serving sentences of 11-and-a-half years in a maximum security facility on fraud and other charges he denies.
Supporters of NAVALNY claim his arrest and incarceration are a politically motivated attempt to stifle his criticism of Russian President VLADMIR PUTTIN.
Spokesperson , KIRA YARMYSH said on X formerly known as twitter that Lawyers have made several attempts to get access to two penal colonies where NAVALNY , who has suffered serious health issues, was believed to be.
They were informed that the 47-year-old was not at either the IK-6 or IK-7 penal colonies, Yarmysh added.
On Friday and throughout today, neither IK-6 nor IK-7 responded to them,”YARMSH posted, adding that NAVALNY had been missing for six days. Navalny was last imprisoned in the IK-6 penal colony east of Moscow.
The White House said it was “deeply concerned” about reports of NAVALNY’S disappearance.
YARMYSH said NAVALNY was due to appear in court via a video link on Monday.
Prison authorities told NAVALNY’S team he was unable to appear for the hearing due to an electricity issue in the prison.
YARMYSH said she was concerned by Navalny’s recent poor health.
NAVALNY’S disappearance comes just days after PUTIN announced he will run for president again in Russia’s elections in March 2024, in a move that could see him retain power until at least 2030.
NAVALNY posed one of the most serious threats to PUTIN’S legitimacy during his rule, which has spanned more than two decades. He organized anti-government street protests and used his blog and social media to expose alleged corruption in the Kremlin as well as Russian business.