Authorities Won’t Tell Where Jailed Russian Opposition Leader Is Held, Lawyers Say

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was taken from a Russian detention facility to an unknown location, his lawyers said Friday.

One of Navalny’s lawyers visited him Thursday and when another attempted to meet with him Friday they were told he had been moved, Reuters reported. Navalny was initially moved from a Moscow jail last month after a quarantine period to serve the remainder of his two-and-a-half-year prison sentence at the IK-2 penal colony.

“The prison said he wasn’t there and that’s it,” Navalny’s lawyer, Vadim Kobzev, told Reuters. He added that Navalny was in good health during his Thursday visit.

Information on Navalny’s location could not be shared due to protection of personal information laws, a Federal Penitentiary Service spokesperson said, Reuters reported. 

Navalny was arrested upon returning from Germany in January after recovering from a nerve agent poisoning, Reuters reported. The Kremlin disputed the incident and denied any involvement in the poisoning despite international .

Navalny was charged with violating parole and arrested as soon as he returned to Russia, Reuters reported. The U.S. and European Union implemented sanctions against Russia while demanding Navalny’s release.