dpa
Moscow
Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has once again failed to appear at a court hearing, aides said, heightening fears about his fate.
President Vladimir Putin’s most outspoken critic has not been seen by his lawyers for two weeks. Russian government authorities have refused to disclose where he is or fully explain his absence.
Navalny’s team said that when their client did not appear as planned on Monday, the judge decided to suspend the proceedings. Navalny usually appears via video link to the hearings.
Navalny’s lawyers said the judge had a responsibility to help find their client but instead had “abdicated his duty.” The UN Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur for the situation in Russia, Mariana Katzarova, expressed concern in Geneva on Monday.
“Mr Navalny and all those arbitrarily detained should be released immediately and provided remedies and reparations for all the harm suffered, in line with international human rights obligations,” she said.
A court in the city of Kovrov, some 260km north-east of Moscow, is hearing complaints made by Navalny against the management of the prison where he is serving a 19-year sentence for alleged extremism and other charges.
The 47-year-old has repeatedly filed lawsuits against the prison system for violating his rights.
Since the beginning of December, there has been no trace of him and he has missed multiple court hearings.
At first, Russia prison officials blamed an electricity outage for the lack of a video link to the court. Then, authorities confirmed he is no longer in the Vladimir region, where the court in Kovrov is located.
