Russian Dissident Navalny Resurfaces In Artic Prison After Disappearance

Associates of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny shocked the world on Dec. 25.

They claimed that Navalny had been found... ALIVE.

Nearly three weeks after his friends lost contact with him, Navalny has apparently been located in a prison colony above the Artic Circle nearly three weeks after contact with him was lost.

Navalny is perhaps the most prominent foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin. As a result, Navalny is currently serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism.

He had been "imprisoned in the Vladimir region of central Russia, about 230 kilometers (140 miles) east of Moscow, but his lawyers said they had not been able to reach him since Dec. 6."

Navalny's spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, finally made the announcement that Alexei Navalny was "located in a prison colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow."

"They deliberately sent him to this particular colony precisely in order to isolate Alexei as much as possible, so as not to give him any opportunity to communicate with the outside world," the spokesperson said. "This is all happening precisely because Alexei, despite the fact that he is in prison, is still the main opponent of Vladimir Putin … It is not surprising that they began to transfer him to another colony right now, so that he could not interfere with Putin’s campaign."