Russian opposition chief says he has seen his lawyer after 20 days travelling to penal colony above the Arctic Circle.
Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny has confirmed he’s being held in a distant Arctic jail and has seen his lawyer after his spokespeople stated they’d misplaced contact with him for greater than two weeks.
Navalny on Tuesday said he was in good spirits after a “fairly exhausting” 20-day switch from a jail within the Vladimir area, in a put up on X, his account routinely up to date by way of his allies.
“I now reside above the Arctic Circle. Within the village of Kharp on Yamal. The closest city has the attractive identify of Labytnangi,” he wrote, after asserting: “I’m your new Santa Claus” and noting that he had grown a beard through the “20 days of my transportation”.
His spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, on Monday stated Navalny had been tracked down and was within the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp within the Yamal-Nenets area, about 1,900km (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow.
The Kremlin critic’s whereabouts had not been identified since December 6, triggering concern from his allies, rights teams and Western governments.
“The 20 days of my transportation have been fairly exhausting, however I’m nonetheless in a great temper,” Navalny stated.
“They introduced me right here on Saturday evening. And I used to be transported with such precaution and on such an odd route (Vladimir – Moscow – Chelyabinsk – Ekaterinburg – Kirov – Vorkuta – Kharp) that I didn’t anticipate anybody to search out me right here earlier than mid-January.
“That’s why I used to be very stunned when the cell door was opened yesterday with the phrases: ‘A lawyer is right here to see you.’”
1/9 I’m your new Santa Claus.
Properly, I now have a sheepskin coat, an ushanka hat (a fur hat with ear-covering flaps), and shortly I’ll get valenki (a standard Russian winter footwear). I’ve grown a beard for the 20 days of my transportation.
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) December 26, 2023
Addressing his supporters, Navalny thanked them for worrying about his wellbeing, including: “Don’t fear about me. I’m advantageous. I’m completely relieved that I’ve lastly made it.”
Whereas his whereabouts have been unknown, there was hypothesis that he was present process a jail switch, which might take weeks in Russia as a result of prisoners are slowly moved by rail between far-flung services.
Navalny’s attorneys and supporters had been making ready for his anticipated switch to a “particular regime” colony, the harshest grade in Russia’s jail system.
His new house, referred to as the “Polar Wolf” colony, is taken into account one of many hardest prisons in Russia. Its inmates are convicted of grave crimes. Winters are harsh there with temperatures as a result of drop to about minus 28 levels Celsius (minus 18 levels Fahrenheit) over the following week.
Navalny has been behind bars since January 2021 when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.
Earlier than his arrest, he campaigned towards corruption and organised main anti-Kremlin protests. He has since obtained three jail phrases and spent months in isolation in Penal Colony Quantity 6 for alleged minor infractions.
A courtroom prolonged Navalny’s sentence to 19 years on extremism fees and dominated that he be moved to a safer, harsher jail.
He has rejected all fees towards him as politically motivated.
“Since I’m Santa Claus, you’re most likely questioning concerning the presents,” Navalny stated on X. “However I’m a special-regime Santa Claus, so solely those that have behaved very badly get presents.”
