Jailed Putin Critic Alexei Navalny's Disappearance Raises Alarm Amid Reports Of Critical Health Episode

jailed putin critic alexei navalny’s disappearance raises alarms amid reports of critical health episode

Amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bid to run again for the country’s top office, there are reports that Alexei Navalny, a well-known staunch critic of the current ruling dispensation at the Kremlin, has been missing for three days. The news has been confirmed by sources and close ones of Russia’s opposition leader. Navalny has been missing for three days following a “serious health-related incident,” they said.

Navalny, who was allegedly poisoned with a nerve agent in Siberia and suffered serious long-term health issues, is locked up inside the penal colony east of Moscow. Navalny has been sentenced to more than 30 years for what he describes as an effort to silence him in opposition to Putin.

“Navalny’s lawyers were literally not allowed to see him, they told him to go to hell. We froze outside all day and simply weren’t allowed in. They said: write complaints and requests,” wrote anti-corruption activist Ivan Zhdanov, while informing about the current situation.

Recently, Navalny was additionally charged by prosecutors in Russia, and the former said that every three months he gets slapped by a new criminal case. Navalny further shared how it was difficult for him to comprehend the process. “I don’t even know whether to describe my latest news as sad, funny, or absurd,” The Independent quoted Navalny as saying.

“The fact that we can’t find Alexey is particularly worrying because he fell ill in his cell last week: he got dizzy and laid down on the floor,” said Kira Yarmysh, Navalny’s Press Secretary.

Despite facing dire consequences for opposing Putin, Navalny and his chief of staff, Leonid Volkov, launched a project called “Navalny’s Campaigning Machine.” Navalny wants to take on Putin yet again. They have started awareness campaigns against Putin and his regime in Russia.

As part of the campaign, Navalny’s associates are planning to speak to Russians by calling them as well as convincing them online “to turn against the candidates we hate: candidate Putin and candidate ‘War’,” The Independent’s report added.

The project already had about 170 volunteers by the end of October 2023 and the voluneers has reached out to people in Russia by making thousands of phone calls, Volkov told news agency Reuters.