Russian opposition leader and outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Alexei Navalny, has been found at a penal colony in Siberia just two weeks after his legal team said it had lost contact with him.
“We have found Alexey,” Kira Yarmysh, a spokeswoman for Navalny, said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. “He is now in IK-3 in the settlement of Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District.”
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We have found Alexey @navalny. He is now in IK-3 in the settlement of Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. His lawyer visited him today. Alexey is doing well.
— Кира Ярмыш (@Kira_Yarmysh) December 25, 2023
Navalny’s lawyer visited him on Monday and said he was “doing well,” according to the statement.
Navalny’s legal team announced on Dec. 11 it had lost contact with the Russian opposition leader, sparking concerns about his whereabouts and physical safety. Up until that point, Navalny had been kept in a penal colony roughly 150 miles east of Moscow.
His disappearance came just days after Putin announced he would run for reelection next year.
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Navalny’s absence caused him to miss two scheduled court appearances, prompting concerns from his legal team that he had “never been hidden for so long,” according to a previous statement. His team has frequently warned of his ailing physical health, accusing Russian officials of keeping him “deprived of food” and holding him “in a punishment cell without ventilation.”
Navalny was sentenced to 19 years in prison in August after being found guilty of inciting “extremist activities” and “rehabilitating Nazi ideology.” Supporters of the opposition leader say his imprisonment is politically motivated due to his criticism of Putin.
