UK ‘very concerned’ about Navalny and urges Russia to release Putin critic

Navalny, an outspoken critic of Putin, was this week abruptly transferred to a notorious maximum security prison

Alexei Navalny pictured in 2020 (REUTERS)

The UK’s foreign secretary Liz Truss said she is “very concerned” about the whereabouts of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and has urged Russia to release him after reports he was moved to a notorious high-security prison.

Navalny, 46, an outspoken opponent of Vladimir Putin, was earlier this week apparently transferred to the maximum security IK-6 prison in the Vladimir region village of Melekhovo, about 155 miles east of Moscow.

The facility is known for its strict inmate routines, which include standing at attention for hours, and has a notorious reputation within the Russian penal system, with allegations of torture and rape of inmates rife.

There has not yet been any confirmation of where Mr Navalny is being held and on Wednesday said it was “not concerned” for his safety.

In comments on Thursday, Ms Truss said: “We wholeheartedly support Navalny and we are very, very concerned about the reports we have heard and we urge Russia to release him as soon as possible.”

Navalny wrote on the Telegram messaging app that he was confined in a “strict regime” and in quarantine, but did not elaborate further.

He added: “My space travel continues. I’ve moved from ship to ship.”

The opposition leader has been a target for an increased Kremlin crackdown on dissidents and critics of the Russian president in recent months.

Navalny was arrested in January 2021 upon returning from Germany, where he had been recuperating from nerve-agent poisoning he blamed on Russian authorities.

He received a two-and-a-half-year sentence for allegedly violating the conditions of his parole while outside Russia.

In March, Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of fraud and contempt of court, allegations he rejected as a politically motivated attempt by Russian authorities to keep him behind bars for as long as possible.

As well as calling for Navalny to be released, the UK government passed yet further sanctions on Putin allies and those who have brought “untold suffering to Ukraine”.

The measures include the sanctioning of Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for her alleged involvement in the forced transfer and adoption of Ukrainian children.

Lvova-Belova has been accused of enabling 2,000 vulnerable children being violently taken from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions and orchestrating a new policy to facilitate their forced adoptions in Russia.

Ms Truss said: “Today we are targeting the enablers and perpetrators of Putin’s war who have brought untold suffering to Ukraine, including the forced transfer and adoption of children.

“We will not tire of defending freedom and democracy, and keeping up the pressure on Putin, until Ukraine succeeds.”

The sanctions also hit Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Sergey Savostyanov, the deputy of the Moscow city Duma and member of Putin’s political elite, and four military colonels from the 64th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade, a unit known to have killed, raped, and tortured civilians in Bucha.

Additional reporting by agencies

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