Russian President Vladimir Putin’s promotion of senior law enforcement officials a few days after the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in custody has sparked criticism. The deputy head of the prison authority FSIN, Valery Boyarinev, who was promoted to colonel general of the Interior Ministry, was personally responsible for the torture of Navalny in prison, wrote the director of the Anti-Corruption Fund (FBK) founded by Navalny, Ivan Zhdanov, on his Telegram on Tuesday. Channel. “This must be understood as Putin’s open reward for the torture.”
In July 2023, during a court hearing against Navalny, an order from Boyarinew became known to restrict the opposition politician from buying food and daily necessities. Normally, prisoners can use their money to supplement their own meager rations at the prison store. According to Zhdanov, the newly appointed colonel general was also responsible for further harassment of Navalny.
The 53-year-old’s promotion became known on Monday with the publication of the presidential decree in the legal database. In addition to Boyarinew, three other correctional officers were promoted to the rank of general. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied any connection between Navalny’s death and the promotions. These are a very common occurrence, he said.
Alexei Navalny died on Friday in the prison camp with the unofficial name “Arctic Wolf” in the Siberian Arctic region of Yamal. The politician, weakened by repeated solitary confinement, is said to have collapsed while walking around the icy prison yard and died despite attempts to resuscitate him. Navalny was 47 years old at the time of death. To this day, the authorities have denied his relatives access to his body, despite international protests. Navalny’s team, which accuses the Russian power apparatus of murder, sees this as an attempted cover-up.
