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 mentioned they’d misplaced contact with him for greater than two weeks.
Navalny on Tuesday mentioned he was in good spirits after a “fairly exhausting” 20-day switch from a jail within the Vladimir area, in a publish on X, his account routinely up to date by way of his allies.
“I now stay above the Arctic Circle. Within the village of Kharp on Yamal. The closest city has the gorgeous identify of Labytnangi,” he wrote, after asserting: “I’m your new Santa Claus” and noting that he had grown a beard in the course of the “20 days of my transportation”.
His spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, on Monday mentioned 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 had been fairly exhausting, however I’m nonetheless in temper,” Navalny mentioned.
“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 shocked 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.
Effectively, 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 caring about his wellbeing, including: “Don’t fear about me. I’m high-quality. I’m completely relieved that I’ve lastly made it.”
Whereas his whereabouts had been unknown, there was hypothesis that he was present process a jail switch, which may take weeks in Russia as a result of prisoners are slowly moved by rail between far-flung services.
Navalny’s legal professionals 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 residence, 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 consequence of drop to about minus 28 levels Celsius (minus 18 levels Fahrenheit) over the subsequent 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 in opposition to 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 court docket 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 in opposition to him as politically motivated.
“Since I’m Santa Claus, you’re most likely questioning in regards to the presents,” Navalny mentioned on X. “However I’m a special-regime Santa Claus, so solely those that have behaved very badly get presents.”
