UK conveys ‘sincere’ support to Navalny after prison change

MADRID, June 16 (European press) –

On Thursday, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss conveyed to Russian opponent Alexei Navalny her “sincere” support for the British government after his sudden change of prison.

“We support Navalny with all our hearts and are very concerned about the information about his position. We demand Russia to release him as soon as possible,” he confirmed in a speech to parliament collected by the newspaper “The Guardian”.

His words come after the Russian authorities confirmed the transfer of the prominent opponent to a high-security prison in the Vladimir region, on the outskirts of the capital, Moscow, after those close to him condemned him as missing.

During the day on Tuesday, his spokesman, Kira Yarmish, denounced the lack of knowledge of the opponent’s whereabouts after he was transferred from the prison where he was serving an 11-year sentence.

“Navalny was transferred from penal colony No. 2,” he said, adding that “neither his lawyer nor his relatives have been notified of this transfer.” But Yarimsh noted that there were “rumors” about his transfer to IK-6 in Melikhovo.

Navalny has been detained since his return to Moscow in January 2021, after recovering in Berlin from a serious poisoning he suffered a few months earlier. Then the judge decided that he should go to prison to serve a two-and-a-half-year sentence for fraud issued in 2014.