Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Russia Moves Navalny to Prison in the Arctic

by Reuters

   Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny has been moved to a
   penal colony in an Arctic region of northern Russia, his spokeswoman
   said on Monday after supporters lost touch with him for more than two
   weeks.

   Navalny was tracked down to the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp in the
   Yamal-Nenets region, about 1,900 km north east of Moscow, spokeswoman
   Kira Yarmysh said.

   Navalny's lawyer managed to see him on Monday, Yarmysh said.

   Navalny's allies, who had been preparing for his expected transfer to a
   "special regime" colony, the harshest grade in Russia's prison system,
   said he has not been seen by his lawyers since Dec. 6 and raised the
   alarm about his fate.

   "Many thanks to our supporters, activists, journalists and the media
   who are concerned about Alexei's fate and who do not get tired of
   writing about the situation," Navalny lawyer Ivan Zhdanov said.

   Zhdanov said his supporters sent 618 requests for information about the
   location of Navalny, who had been held at a penal colony 235 km east of
   Moscow.