Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, whose whereabouts had been unknown since early December, has been moved to a prison in the brutally cold Arctic region, his spokeswoman said on December 25.
"We have found Aleksei Navalny. He is now in [correctional colony]-3 in the settlement of Kharp in the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous district. His lawyer visited him today. Aleksei is doing well," Kira Yarmysh announced on the social-media platform X.
The remote region, which spans the Arctic Circle, is known for its brutal winters and includes the former Soviet prison-camp city of Vorkuta, which is Europe's easternmost and coldest town, about 100 kilometers from the Kharp site.
"It is almost impossible to get to this colony; it is almost impossible to even send letters there," Leonid Volkov, Navalny's chief strategist, wrote on social media.
"This is the highest possible level of isolation from the world, which is what it was all about," he added.
It was Navalny’s longest absence since he was taken into captivity in January 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he underwent treatment for a near-fatal nerve-agent poisoning that he believes was carried out by Russian security operatives at the behest of authoritarian President Vladimir Putin.
Navalny's supporters launched an Internet campaign using the hashtag #WhereIsNavalny.
The United States on December 25 said it welcomed that the 47-year-old Kremlin critic had been located but added it remained "deeply concerned" about his safety and detention conditions.
A spokesperson said Washington joined the activist's family and supporters "in calling for his immediate release, without conditions."
"We call on the Russian government to end its escalating repression of independent voices in Russia," the spokesperson added.
Council of Europe Secretary-General Marija Pejcinovic Buric wrote on X that she had "serious concerns" about Navalny and called for his release "in line with relevant judgements of the European Court of Human Rights."
Prison officials had said Navalny was no longer in the Vladimir region prison where he had been serving a 19-year term but had refused to say where he is. In a statement on December 12, the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) said only that Navalny had left "for a penal institution outside the borders of Vladimir Oblast."
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5 Things To Know About Russian Opposition Leader Aleksei Navalny
The process of transferring convicts in Russia, known as "etap," involves "vagonzaks" -- trains specifically designed for prisoners.
Such trains have caged compartments for prisoners, who are provided with little fresh air, no showers, and only limited access to food or a toilet.
The transfers can take days, weeks, or even months as the trains stop and convicts spend time in transit prisons. Convicts almost always face humiliation, beatings, and sometimes even death at the hands of their guards or other convicts.
Harsh rules dating back to Soviet times provide for the prisoners' families and lawyers being informed about their whereabouts only after they have reached their destination.
Earlier this month, two courts in the Vladimir region postponed hearings into complaints filed by Navalny pending information on his whereabouts.
Navalny had complained of a concerted campaign of harassment and mistreatment since his imprisonment, including sleep deprivation, repeated stints in punishment cells for minor alleged infractions, and a lack of medical care.
He has been recognized as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International and listed as a political prisoner by Russia's banned Memorial human rights group.