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Updated March 4th, 2021 at 15:45 IST

Russia's 'harshest' jail: Navalny transferred to IK-2 penal camp, lawyer says 'unbearable'

Located approximately 3 hours from the main city, the correctional facility in Vladimir is renowned for cruelty and psychological abuse against inmates.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
Navalny
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Russia’s opposition leader Alexei Navalny was transferred to a ‘notorious’ penal colony outside Moscow in Kolchugino located in the Vladimir region, Russia's state-run news agency RIA-Novosti said, citing Moscow's Public Monitoring Commission (ONK) that monitors prisoners. Navalny will be held at IK-2 penal camp in detention center-3  to serve jail time he was handed for embezzlement case by a makeshift court in the Babuskinsky district, attorney Vadim Kobzev added.

The detention facility where Navalny is being sent is a place where ’political criminals’ are subjected to frequent and harsh torturous acts until they “eventually break down”, Kobzev said, slamming the Russian administration for exercising force to squash dissident voices like Navalny’s and transferring him to the Pokrov IK-2 prison. 

Located approximately 3 hours from the main city, the correctional facility in Vladimir is renowned for cruelty and psychological abuse against inmates, sources of Russia’s Moscow Times alleged. Citing a prisoner’s statement who was sentenced to the facility for robbery 2 years ago, the newspaper reported that he was routinely beaten mercilessly by prison guards and other inmates during his incarceration, and subjected to harassment and mental torture. IK-2 is a completely lawless zone, a lawyer at the Russian inmates’ human rights protection group, Pyotr Kuryanov was further quoted saying. He told the publication that the prison is known for all kinds of sadistic practises against inmates for a long time and Navalny could be subjected to mental and physical abuse. 

Prepare to be cut off from humanity, the decision to move Navalny to the harshest jail in Russia is no accident. Health issues are a given—Konstantin Kotov, an activist who was detained in IK-2 for protesting against the government told Russia's tate news agencies.

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"Alexey Navalny is in a quarantine cell. There are two people with him in the cell. He is in complete isolation, does not receive letters, the FSIN-Letter system is disabled for the entire pre-trial detention center. There is nothing in the cell except the TV. There is no refrigerator or even a kettle," attorney Kobzev wrote on Twitter.

Transferred for 'psychological isolation'

After he was released from same correctional facility where Navalny is held now, serving 4 years in jail, pro-democracy political activist Konstantin Kotov told RFE about the ‘severity’ of his sentence. At IK-2, guards monitored every single step of the way. And it is for the purpose of psychological isolation that the government has asked the law enforcement authorities to transfer Navalny there, he said. In a statement to South China Morning Post (SCMP), Kotov’s lawyer said that the prison guards would process every communication or letter sent to the political activist, and in less than a day, Kotov had to give up on his right to secret interviews with lawyers. However, the head of the Russian Federation Penal Enforcement Bureau, Alexander Kalashnikov told Russian news agencies that there will be no harm to Navalny’s health or life at IK-2. 

[Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny gestures as he stands behind a grass of the cage in the Babuskinsky District Court in Moscow, Russia. Credit: AP]

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Read: Russia Opposes US Sanctions Over Navalny Poisoning, Tells Allies To 'not Play With Fire'

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Published March 4th, 2021 at 15:45 IST

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