The U.Okay. authorities has sanctioned six Russian officers concerned in working the ‘Polar Wolf’ Arctic penal colony in response to the demise of Putin opponent Alexei Navalny contained in the jail camp on Friday final week.
The British response will see the top of the jail, Colonel Vadim Konstantinovich Kalinin, and 5 deputies subjected to journey bans and asset freezes, in what marks the primary new set of sanctions towards Russia for the reason that 47-year-old campaigner’s demise on Feb. 16.
Navalny was despatched to the Polar Wolf colony in December 2023 the place he was denied medical remedy, saved in solitary confinement for weeks at a time, and compelled to stroll in freezing temperatures of -32°C (-25.6°F), the U.Okay. authorities mentioned because it blamed the jail for his demise.
“It’s clear that the Russian authorities saw Navalny as a threat and they tried repeatedly to silence him,” U.Okay. international secretary Lord Cameron mentioned. “FSB operatives poisoned him with Novichok in 2020, they imprisoned him for peaceful political activities, and they sent him to an Arctic penal colony. No-one should doubt the oppressive nature of the Russian system.”
“That’s why we’re at present sanctioning probably the most senior jail officers accountable for his custody within the penal colony the place he spent his remaining months. Those accountable for Navalny’s brutal remedy must be below no phantasm – we’ll maintain them accountable.
The people sanctioned embrace:
- Colonel Vadim Konstantinovich Kalinin: Head of IK-3 Arctic Penal Colony ‘Polar Wolf’
- Lieutenant Colonel Sergey Nikolaevich Korzhov: Deputy Head
- Lieutenant Colonel Vasily Alexandrovich Vydrin: Deputy Head
- Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Ivanovich Pilipchik: Deputy Head
- Lieutenant Colonel Aleksandr Vladimirovich Golyakov: Deputy Head
- Colonel Aleksandr Valerievich Obraztsov: Deputy Head
First opened within the Sixties as a part of a system of ‘Gulag’ compelled labor camps opened by the Soviet Union, the IK-3 penal colony, which is extensively known as ‘Polar Wolf’ is taken into account to be considered one of Russia’s hardest most safety prisons because of its sub-zero temperatures and distant location.
In an announcement, the U.Okay. additionally referred to as on Russia to “immediately” return Navalny’s physique to his household, following experiences it’s at the moment being held for 2 weeks for “chemical evaluation. Britain’s international workplace had beforehand referred to as for a full investigation into Navalny’s demise.
Prior to his arrival at ‘Polar Wolf,’ Navalny has beforehand spent three years in Russia’s jail system after being arrested at an airport in Moscow for parole violations following his return from Germany in January 2021.
The former lawyer had earlier been evacuated out of Russia to obtain medical remedy in Berlin’s Charité Hospital in August 2020, after he began struggling severe signs that have been later attributed to the impacts of poisoning with the lethal nerve agent Novichok.
Navalny’s demise led to protests throughout Russia that resulted in at the very least 400 folks being detained throughout 32 of the nation’s cities in what was described as the biggest present of public outrage for the reason that begin of the Ukraine struggle.
Source web site: www.marketwatch.com
