Russian courts suspend proceedings in Navalny cases until his ‘location is established’

The judges presiding over Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny’s lawsuits regarding prison conditions have suspended proceedings until his “location is established,” reports Kira Yarmysh, Navalny’s press secretary.

“Today, Alexey was supposed to have seven court hearings. The first two have already taken place — he wasn’t even brought in via video link,” Yarmysh wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. She added that over the weekend, lawyers had inquired about Navalny at more than 200 detention centers across Russia but were still waiting to hear back.

Navalny’s lawyers requested that cases be rescheduled rather than suspended so the court would request information from Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service about his location. Eventually, two courts agreed to reschedule.

Navalny’s associates have had no contact with him for 13 days. On December 7 and 11, he failed to appear by video call in court due to what prison officials called issues with the prison’s electrical system.

On December 11, employees at Penal Colony No. 6 in Russia’s Vladimir region, where Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny has been held since June 2022, said that Navalny is “no longer listed” in the prison’s roster of inmates, according to the politician’s lawyer.

On December 12, the Telegram channel Baza reported that Navalny had been transferred to Moscow in connection with a new criminal case regarding vandalism. Navalny’s associates checked most Moscow detention centers in search of the politician but did not find him.

On December 15, a document from Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service stating that Navalny had been transferred to a correctional facility located outside of the Vladimir region was read out during a court hearing. The document did not mention the exact location to which Navalny was allegedly transferred.