After weeks of disappearance, Vladimir Putin's biggest opponent reappears in prison in the Arctic | world

Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin's biggest opponent, has resurfaced weeks after he disappeared. His spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on Monday (25) that he spoke to his lawyer from inside the Yamal-Nenets prison in the Arctic region of Russia, about 1,900 kilometers from Moscow.

“Alexey is Putin’s main rival, even though his name is not on the ballot,” Yarmysh told The Associated Press last Monday. “They will do everything they can to isolate him.”

During the missing period – since December 6 – the US government expressed deep concern about Navalny's safety and stated that Russian authorities were responsible for him.

In response, the Kremlin declared that the American statements were considered unacceptable interference in Russia's internal affairs.

Navalny's allies sounded the alarm after lawyers were prevented from entering Penal Colony No. 6, the prison located about 230 kilometers east of Moscow where Navalny was serving his sentence. The lawyers also stated that Navalny was not receiving letters addressed to him and that he was not attending court sessions via videoconference as usual.

Yarmysh said the situation was worrying because Navalny had fallen ill in recent months and had apparently lost consciousness “from hunger.” He added, “They deprive him of food, keep him in an unventilated cell, and give him only the minimum amount of time to leave.”

Navalny has been imprisoned in Russia since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recovering in Germany from a poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Before his arrest, he campaigned against official corruption and organized large anti-Kremlin protests.