Kremlin slams US 'interference' as Navalny's allies express concerns over his whereabouts

The Kremlin on Tuesday criticised what it deemed as US “interference” in the case of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose whereabouts remain unknown according to his allies.

A day prior, the United States expressed deep concern over Navalny’s team reporting a lack of access to him for almost a week and speculations that he was removed from the prison where he has been held for months.

“We are talking about a prisoner who was found guilty by the law and is serving the prison sentence he received. Any interference, including from the US, is unacceptable,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

On Monday, the US called for Navalny’s immediate release, asserting that he should never have been jailed in the first place.

Navalny’s team claimed that the politician, serving a 19-year sentence, missed several court hearings, and his lawyers were informed of his removal from the prison.

“Today, Alexei was again not taken to court via video link,” his exiled spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on social media Tuesday.

“An employee of the IK-6 (prison colony) stated that Alexey ‘left the colony’ but apparently nobody knows where he was taken,” she said.

It was the seventh day Navalny’s allies said they had no contact with him.

A court this summer prolonged Navalny’s sentence to 19 years and also ruled that he be moved to a harsher — “special regime” — prison.

Navalny’s allies linked his disappearance and possible transfer to a harsher prison with President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that he plans to extend his long rule by running for a fifth presidential term in March.

Russia’s huge prison system often takes weeks — or longer — to move prisoners between far-flung facilities by rail.

With inputs from AFP