US urges Russia to let lawyers see Navalny after opposition leader goes missing

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US urged Russian authorities on Tuesday to ensure Alexey Navalny has access to his lawyers after the jailed opposition leader's team said he went missing while in state custody.

"We call on Russian authorities to allow Mr. Navalny access to his lawyers, to his legal representation, as well as to receive medical care. We have communicated to the Russian government repeatedly that they are responsible for what happens to Mr. Navalny as he is in their custody," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

"They will be held accountable by the international community were anything to befall Mr. Navalny while he is in their custody. His exposure over many years of this government's corruption and his pro-democracy activism prompted this politically-motivated arrest," he added.

The statement comes after Navalany's spokeswoman said he had been transported to an undisclosed location from the prison at which he was held.

"His lawyer, who came to see him, was kept at the checkpoint until 14.00, and was then told: 'There is no such convict here,'” Yarmysh wrote on Twitter. "We do not know where Alexei is now and what colony they are taking him to."

Navalny was sentenced to nine additional years in a maximum-security penal colony after being found guilty in a fraud case in March which the West has maintained was part of a series of politically-motivated prosecutions of the politician.

Navalny was arrested in January 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was treated for poisoning. Western countries and Navalny have blamed Russia for the poisoning, a charge the Kremlin denies.