Camilla Jessen
Lilia Chanysheva, former head of Navalny’s Ufa headquarters, has vanished from her penal colony.
Lilia Chanysheva, the former head of Alexey Navalny’s regional headquarters in Ufa, has disappeared from the penal colony where she was serving a nine-and-a-half-year sentence.
Her husband, Almaz Gatin, reported her absence on Monday.
Unexpected Transfer
Gatin took to social media platform X to share his alarming discovery.
Upon visiting the penal colony in the Perm region on Sunday with a parcel for his wife, he was informed that Chanysheva had been transferred on July 26.
“Today I took an appeal in writing to the penal colony. I appeal to everyone to help me find my wife. Please let me know if anyone knows anything of the whereabouts of L. A. Chanysheva,” Gatin wrote.
Background on Chanysheva’s Imprisonment
Chanysheva was the first individual detained in a criminal case for “extremism” linked to Navalny and his supporters in September 2021.
Initially sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in June 2023 for “calling for extremism” and participating in “an extremist community,” her sentence was later increased.
The Prosecutor General’s Office argued that her original sentence was “too lenient,” and the court extended it to nine and a half years in April, citing her role in inciting local residents to protest.
In May, Chanysheva’s plea to Russian President Vladimir Putin for a pardon was made public.
In her letter, which has been authenticated, Chanysheva highlighted her parents’ poor health and expressed her desire to be with her family.