Imprisoned opposition politician Aleksei Navalny has reportedly been transferred to a detention center in Moscow from a penal colony in the Vladimir region due to a new criminal case launched against the outspoken Kremlin critic as the European Union called again for his immediate release.
The Russian government-linked Baza Telegram channel reported on December 12 that Navalny -- who had gone missing for almost a week causing him to miss several court hearings -- was transported to the capital as part of an investigation into his actions in a case of vandalism being brought against him.
The Baza report comes one day after Navalny's lawyer was told that his client had been transferred from a penal colony to an unspecified institution amid concerns by Navalny's associates that he had been held incommunicado and that his health may be in jeopardy.
Navalny is serving a total of 19 years in prison on extremism and other charges that he rejects as politically motivated.
He was expected to be transferred to a harsher "special regime" facility after his sentence was increased to 19 years in August on a charge of creating an extremist organization, which Navalny and his supporters have also rejected as politically motivated.
Navalny's current isolation from the outside world coincided with a campaign his team launched on December 7 against President Vladimir Putin. That day, the Russian parliament's upper chamber, the Federation Council, set March 17, 2024, as the date for a presidential election.
The European Union on December 12 reiterated its call for Navalny's release, with the bloc's top policy official, Josep Borrell, saying it was "highly worrying" that the Russian activist was missing.
"Russia's political leadership is responsible for his safety and health in prison for which they will be held to account," Borrell said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"The EU reiterates its call for his immediate & unconditional release from politically motivated incarceration," he added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, said the presidential administration "has no opportunity" to follow the fate of any inmate, including Navalny.
Peskov added that "interference" into the situation around Navalny is "unacceptable."
Putin, who has led the country as a prime minister or president since 1999, is eligible to take part in two more presidential elections due to constitutional amendments introduced in 2020. He is expected to easily win the poll.
Navalny's previous sentence was handed down in 2021 after he arrived in Moscow from Germany, where he had been recovering from a poisoning attack he blamed on the Kremlin, which the Kremlin denied.
He was Russia's loudest opposition voice and galvanized huge anti-government rallies before he was jailed.