Alexey Navalny, the outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin who survived a poisoning attempt on his life earlier in 2020, has been moved to a penal colony in Russia. Navalny, the leader of an opposition party in Russia that seeks to ouster the totalitarian dictator Putin, was arrested upon returning from medical treatment for his poisoning in Germany.
A spokesman for Russia’s penitentiary service told reporters “According to the court’s decision, he left to where he currently should be. Everything is done within the framework of the law and the current legislation.” Navalny’s own legal team hasn’t even been informed where the politician is being transferred to. The Russian government has classified Navalny as a flight risk. Navalny himself has ridiculed that assertion, saying he is dedicated to bettering his home country.
Russian Government Claims All Is Legal
Despite the astonishingly bad optics of jailing a political opponent of Vladimir Putin, the Russian government maintains that Navalny is being treated correctly under the law. Alexander Kalashnikov, the penitentiary service spokesman, said that the activist is being held under “absolutely normal conditions.”
Previously, Navalny had been held at the more traditional Matrosskaya Tishina detention center. He was moved to the new, undisclosed, location on Thursday. It is unclear at the time of this writing what kind of work he’ll be compelled to do at the penal colony. Another government spokesperson, Marina Litvinovich, noted that Navalny is being sent to a “general regime” colony, which is the most common type in Russia.
To hear her tell it, Navalny is just going off for a bit of rest and relaxation with some other guys. She notes that the prisoners in the camps aren’t kept in cells, but sleep in dormitories, and that they can work if they choose to but don’t have to. These assertions were meant to address concerns from Navalny’s political allies that he was being subjected to inhumane treatment, but instead ring hollow for the opposition.
Putin’s Reign Continues
Vladimir Putin has served in an official capacity as president of Russia since 1999. He maintains that he is democratically elected and that he is not a dictator. However, outside democracy advocates have noted extreme irregularities in Russia’s elections that make it all but impossible for Putin to be ousted from office in a democratic manner.
Sadly, Navalny’s imprisonment is only the latest in a string of assassinations and jailing of political opponents by the former KGB officer. And, if Putin’s track record is any indication, he won’t be the last politician Putin finds inconvenient and removes from the public eye.
