Allies of the imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said they were searching for him for a 13th day after he failed to appear in court Monday. Navalny's spokesperson Kira Yarmysh wrote on X that Navalny had multiple hearings scheduled, some of which were suspended after the 47-year-old could not be located to participate in person or by video link. Navalny's whereabouts have been unknown since his lawyers lost touch with him after Dec. 6. They believe he is deliberately being hidden after Vladimir Putin announced his candidacy in Russia's March presidential election, which the longtime leader is almost certain to win.
"Alexei is Putin's main opponent even though his name won't be on the ballot," Yarmysh told the AP. "They will do everything they can to isolate him." The Washington Post's editorial board shares that perspective, writing, "Mr. Putin is most certainly trying to further isolate Mr. Navalny, who has already endured months in solitary confinement. Until now, he has managed to smuggle out messages through his lawyers, who post them on social media."
Although a judge suspended Monday's court proceedings for an indefinite period after Navalny could not be located, that does not mean judicial officials will find him, Yarmysh said. "The court simply relieved itself of responsibility for administering justice," she said. Navalny was due to be transferred to "special security" penal colony IK-7, a facility with the highest security level in the Russian penitentiary system. Russian prison transfers are notorious for taking a long time, sometimes weeks, during which there's no access to prisoners, with information about their whereabouts limited or unavailable.
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Allies said a defense lawyer was told in court on Friday that Navalny had been moved from the penal colony east of Moscow where he was serving a 19-year term on charges of extremism, but the lawyer was not told where Navalny was taken. Yarmysh told 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, including IK-7. The Hill reports the US State Department on Friday said in a statement that it has "communicated to the Russian government that they are responsible for what happens to Mr. Navalny in their custody, and they will be held accountable by the international community."
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