Fears over safety of Putin critic Alexey Navalny missing for six days after failing to appear in court by video link

Alexey Navalny has not been heard from in six days

Associates of jailed Putin critic Alexey Navalny says they fear for his safety after he failed to appear in court via video link multiple times following a "serious health incident" – and has not been heard from in almost a week.

The prison where he is being held claims to have an ongoing power cut. However, his spokespeople warned that he had taken ill in prison last week and they had not been able to contact him since.

Mr Navalny, 47, is a long-time anti corruption activist in Russia, who has been sentenced to more than 30 years behind bars on what he claims are politically motivated charges. He was issued with new charges just days ago, in what he described as the Kremlin’s desire to “initiate a new criminal case against me every three months”.

Alexey Navalny appeared in court by video link in August.

He announced his intent to run against president Vladimir Putin in the presidential elections in 2018, however, he was barred from doing so due to a prior criminal conviction for corruption. Mr Navalny subsequently called for a boycott of the election. In 2020, he was hospitalised in Omsk, Russia, on suspicion of poisoning.

Mr Putin announced his intention to run in next year’s elections – due to be held in March - last week.

Mr Navalny’s spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, said on Monday: "Alexey Navalny was again not taken to court via video link.

“‘Since December 7, we have not been able to fix the electricity,’ say representatives of the colony. They're just making fun of me.”

She added: “This is already the sixth day since we don’t know where Alexey is or what’s happening to him.”

At the weekend, Ms Yarmysh had said Mr Navalny’s lawyers had stood all day outside the penal colony east of Moscow where he is detained – but were denied entry – after he collapsed in his cell.

“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,” she said.

Last month, Mr Navalny wrote on X about how he is not able to receive letters from his wife, Yulia, in prison, due to them being seized by security forces, amid claims she is plotting “crimes”. He believes the authorities have her on a list due to a childhood prank she carried out at school where she stole a briefcase from a classmate.

Mr Navalny, who is known for his humour, said: “When you are looking for a wife, be sure to check the potential spouse: whether she has a history of being registered as a juvenile delinquent. I didn't do that and here I am.

"On a daily basis, the administration informs me that they are unable to deliver another letter from Navalnaya Y.B. The correspondence was seized by the censor because it contained signs of preparation for a crime. It applies to all recent letters.

"I wrote to her, saying, ‘Yulia, stop preparing crimes! Instead, cook a borscht for the kids.’ However, she can't stop. She continues to invent new crimes and keeps writing to me about them in letters.”