Navalny’s allies claim they haven’t heard from him in six days

The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s allies raised the alarm on Monday, claiming that they haven’t heard from him in six days, nor have his attorneys. According to spokesperson Kira Yarmysh, Navalny, who is serving a 19-year sentence for extremism, was scheduled to appear in court by video connection on Monday but failed to do so. She added that jail authorities had mentioned electrical issues. Yarmysh claims that attorneys haven’t had access to Navalny in recent days.

Yarmysh posted on X, previously known as Twitter, saying, “It is already the sixth straight day that we don’t know where Alexei is and what is happening to him.” The 47-year-old Navalny has been incarcerated since January 2021. He organized significant anti-Kremlin rallies and waged a campaign against official corruption as President Vladimir Putin’s most ardent adversary. Upon his return to Moscow from Germany, where he was recovering from nerve agent poisoning, which he attributed to the Kremlin, he was arrested.

Since then, for supposed minor offenses, Navalny has been sentenced to three periods in jail and has spent months in isolation in a correctional colony in the Vladimir area east of Moscow. He has denied any wrongdoing and said that it is purely political in nature.

Given that Navalny just became unwell, Yarmysh expressed alarm on Friday over the events, saying, “He felt dizzy and lay down on the floor.” Alexei was given an IV drip by prison personnel who hurried to him after unfolding the bed and placing him on it. Although the reason is unknown, it seems that he may have fainted from hunger since he isn’t eating, is being held in a cage without air, and hasn’t had much time outside.