Last updated: 28.12.2023, 05:15 a.m.
By: Felix Busjaeger
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The Russian judiciary has convicted dissident Alexei Navalny for allegedly founding and financing an extremist organisation. Now he has been transferred to the IK-3 penal camp. (Archive photo) © Pavel Golovkin/AP/dpa
Alexei Navalny had disappeared for several weeks. Now there is a new whereabouts. Putin's critic was transferred to the IK-3 penal camp. This is well known.
Moscow – Where is Alexei Navalny? This question was not only on the minds of the team of the imprisoned Kremlin opponent, but also several states demanded clarification from Russia in the case – the concerns in the case of Navalny were great. After more than two weeks, there was a sign of life from the well-known critic of Vladimir Putin on Christmas Day. Navalny has been transferred to the IK-3 prison camp in Charp in northern Russia in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh announced on Monday in the news service X (formerly Twitter). But what is known about Navalny's new whereabouts?
Prison camp IK-3 in Russia: Navalny's whereabouts are 2000 kilometers from Moscow
The IK-3 prison camp in Charp, where Kremlin opponent Navalny is said to be staying, is more than 2000,3 kilometers from Moscow. The facility is also known as the "Arctic Wolf" and is considered one of the northernmost and most remote colonies in Russia. For Alexei Nalvalny, the conditions of detention may have deteriorated again. The conditions in the IK-<> prison camp are considered brutal. Contact with the outside world is probably difficult, letters should not be delivered in the facility. In addition, there are challenging weather conditions – the area is located in the permafrost region.
The settlement of Charp, where the IK-3 prison camp is located, is a small settlement with less than 10,000 inhabitants. Located in the polar region, Navalny's abode is hardly agriculturally usable, but is known for its raw material extraction. The penal facility is used by Russia to enforce life sentences, among other things.
Navalny disappeared for weeks: Putin opponent transferred to Polarwolf prison camp
According to his team, the fact that Alexei Navalny was taken to a remote prison camp is due to the upcoming presidential elections in Russia. Previously, Navalny's court case had been put on hold. It was clear from the beginning that Moscow's power apparatus wanted to isolate the opponent of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin before the election on March 17, according to an employee. Navalny, who has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for alleged extremism, among other things, has repeatedly filed lawsuits against the penal system for violating his rights. He uses the court appearances not least to criticize Putin's authoritarian system.
Until a few weeks ago, Putin critic Navalny was housed in the IK-6 prison camp, about 260 kilometers east of Moscow. It is suspected that this proximity to the Kremlin and publicity became too risky for Putin.
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Former Gulag is Navalny's new whereabouts: Kremlin critic is in prison camp IK-3
Navalny's new abode, the IK-3 penal camp, is a former Soviet gulag, according to information from several media outlets. Russian human rights activist Igor Kalyapin told the Moscow Times that Navalny's transfer is a detention in maximum isolation. This is partly due to the location: the prison camp is located on the Siberian tundra and the Polar Ural mountain range.
As 24ch reports, the prisoners are to serve their prison sentences under precarious living conditions. A former inmate had become constantly ill because his broken clothes had not been replaced. In addition, his cell had neither hot water nor windows. In addition, abuse and torture are said to occur again and again in the IK-3 facility. However, the extent to which these reports are true cannot be independently verified. (fbu/dpa)
