Alexei Navalny has indeed been transferred to a penal colony. The Russian opposition leader has been in a detention center since his conviction. He was transferred on Friday, but where it was unclear until now.
Today, Navalny’s team posted on social media a picture in which he looks gloomily into the camera. In the description, Navalny says he is in “a real concentration camp”. He confirms that he is going to the penal colony IK-2 about 100 kilometers east of Moscow. There he has to serve the 2.5 year prison sentence that was imposed on him last month.
The Russian penal colonies are notorious for their strict regime. Prisoners have to work hard, often under poor conditions. Navalny writes that he has not yet seen any violence in the colony, but that the other prisoners seem tense. “I can quite believe the numerous stories about the methods here.”
Swearing and slang are prohibited, Navalny writes. “Can you imagine that? A prison where they don’t swear? Terrible.”
Poisoning
In February, President Putin’s chief critic was convicted of failing to comply with a reporting requirement; he could not keep his duty because he was recovering from poisoning in Germany. Navalny is convinced that the Kremlin was behind the poisoning. Human rights rapporteurs from the United Nations also state that the Russian government is responsible for the poisoning. Russia contradicts commitment.
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