Washington is “deeply concerned” about the lack of news from Russian opposition leader Navalny

The head of US diplomacy, Anthony Blinken, said on Saturday that he was “deeply concerned” about the lack of information regarding the whereabouts of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, whose relatives have not heard from him since the beginning of December.

We are deeply concerned about the whereabouts of the unknown Alexei Navalny, who disappeared into the Russian prison system nearly three weeks ago.

We once again call for his immediate release and an end to the ongoing suppression of independent voices in Russiahe added.

Supporters of the opponent, who was imprisoned at the beginning of 2021 after surviving an assassination attempt by poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin, have not heard from him since the beginning of the month.

They fear he will be transferred to another prison with a more stringent regime, a procedure that often takes weeks in Russia, a vast region tangled with Soviet-era prison institutions, many of which are located in isolated areas of the country.

Alexei had to have an audience now. And again he didn't show up“, Kira Iarmysh, the anti-corruption activist’s exiled spokesperson, lamented on Thursday. It's been 16 days since we've had any information about AlexeiShe expressed her regret for the competitor, who is currently serving a 19-year prison sentence Extremism.