The Kremlin critic disappeared from his former prison cell yesterday (Image: Getty / AP)
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been sent to a “torture” prison known for the systematic sexual abuse of prisoners.
Oleg Yazhan, chairman of the Public Oversight Commission, told state media that the Kremlin critic had reached ‘IK-6’, referring to a Melekhovo prison about 150 miles east of Moscow.
The maximum security penal colony is known for brutal beatings and rape of prisoners.
Navalny’s aides said they could not confirm that he had been transferred to the facility and could not explain his whereabouts after he was released from his standard security prison yesterday.
The alleged imprisonment of the strict regime is linked to the start of a new nine-year sentence seen as a political motivation by the Russian opposition and the West.
Navalny has said he wants to replace Putin and believes he would win an election if they did not hide in favor of the Kremlin leader.
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Yesterday, Navalny’s allies had sounded the alarm, saying he was missing from the Pokrov penal colony, where he had spent months behind bars.
The lawyer who went to see Navalny was told that “there is no convict there” and he was rejected.
Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said in a tweet last night that she was aware of media reports about the transfer, but had not yet been confirmed.
He has previously said that while torture is used in prisoners in many Russian settlements, Melekhovo is “a monstrous place even by such crazy standards.”
The independent media outlet Mediazona last year revealed allegations of systematic torture and sexual violence at the facility, known as Correctional Colony No. 6.
Former convict Ivan Fomin, then 29, claimed that the colony’s governor, Roman Sahakyan, had forced him to reject a lawyer who threatened to beat and rape him.
Navalny says he wants to replace Putin (Image: AP)
He said he witnessed a blow to the stomach of another inmate and was hit with tubes on his heels and bottom before being raped with the tube.
Navalny also addressed rumors of brutality when he was first told about a possible move.
He wrote on Instagram in May: “My [new] the verdict has not yet come into force, but the inmates of the Melekhovo maximum security colony write that they are equipping me with a “prison in prison” there.
“They say that if you search Google for ‘Melekhovo’, there will be stories of prisoners getting their nails out there. Well, then I’ll have a reason to use a trendy emoji. ‘
Navalny is seen as Putin’s most charismatic enemy, and the Russian leader refuses to even mention his name.
Opposition lawyers and politicians have repeatedly exposed the alleged corruption in Putin’s circle.
Navalny continues to challenge Putin from behind bars (Image: AP)
He gained admiration when he voluntarily returned to Russia last year from Germany, where he recovered from a severe nervous breakdown that blamed Putin.
Navalny was charged with violating the terms of his parole because he failed to appear for checks with local Russian authorities and sentenced him to 2.5 years in prison.
The opposition leader ridiculed the post at the time, saying he could not keep up with visits because he was in a coma.
Then, in March, Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison for “fraud and insults in court.”
The judge had been promoted by Vladimir Putin before the verdict.
Navalny says the case against him was invented.
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He has continued to challenge the Kremlin from his prison cell, using final arguments in his court appearances to make political speeches and transmitting written statements to his multimillion-dollar followers on social media through lawyers.
Last month, he called Putin “crazy” and criticized the “stupid war” in Ukraine.
Many of Mr. Navalny has been jailed or forced into exile by police, with his organization described as “extremist” by the state.
His team confirmed two weeks ago that he had been charged in a new criminal case.
Prosecutors allege that he created an extremist organization and accuse him of inciting hatred towards the authorities, crimes that carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
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