Russian judges have halted new criminal proceedings for the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny as supporters say he has not contacted his lawyers in nearly two weeks and a UN official has said his absence amounted to a “forced disappearance”.
Courts halted seven judicial hearings on Monday “until [Navalny’s] whereabouts [is] established”, his lawyers said, further raising concerns that the Kremlin critic could be muzzled or even killed as Vladimir Putin has announced plans to extend his rule for a fifth presidential term.
Kira Yarmysh, an aide to Navalny, said his team had sent requests to nearly 200 Russian pre-trial detention centres searching for more information on the missing opposition leader but had not been able to find him.
The Kremlin has not answered questions on Navalny’s whereabouts, with Putin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying his team had “neither the intention nor the ability to track the fate of prisoners.”
Mr Navalny’s lawyers, who have been prevented from meeting him since 6 December, were told by the court that their client is no longer held in the Vladimir region, without providing any further details,” Katzarova said.
Navalny’s supporters have launched an anti-Putin guerrilla campaign including billboards in Moscow, St Petersburg and Novosibirsk with a QR-code linking to a website that calls for Putin critics to use nonviolent “partisan” tactics to voice their dissent.
The original article contains 507 words, the summary contains 222 words. Saved 56%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Russian judges have halted new criminal proceedings for the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny as supporters say he has not contacted his lawyers in nearly two weeks and a UN official has said his absence amounted to a “forced disappearance”.
Courts halted seven judicial hearings on Monday “until [Navalny’s] whereabouts [is] established”, his lawyers said, further raising concerns that the Kremlin critic could be muzzled or even killed as Vladimir Putin has announced plans to extend his rule for a fifth presidential term.
Kira Yarmysh, an aide to Navalny, said his team had sent requests to nearly 200 Russian pre-trial detention centres searching for more information on the missing opposition leader but had not been able to find him.
The Kremlin has not answered questions on Navalny’s whereabouts, with Putin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying his team had “neither the intention nor the ability to track the fate of prisoners.”
Mr Navalny’s lawyers, who have been prevented from meeting him since 6 December, were told by the court that their client is no longer held in the Vladimir region, without providing any further details,” Katzarova said.
Navalny’s supporters have launched an anti-Putin guerrilla campaign including billboards in Moscow, St Petersburg and Novosibirsk with a QR-code linking to a website that calls for Putin critics to use nonviolent “partisan” tactics to voice their dissent.
The original article contains 507 words, the summary contains 222 words. Saved 56%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!