Close ally of Kremlin critic Navalny 'leaves Russia for Turkey' amid crackdown

Duvar English - Reuters

Lyubov Sobol, a prominent ally of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, has left Russia days after being sentenced to parole-like restrictions amid a crackdown on the opposition, Russia's RT and REN TV channels cited sources as saying on Aug. 8.

Sobol could not be reached for comment. Her allies declined to speak on her behalf. The outlets said she had flown to Turkey's Istanbul on the evening of Aug. 7. The chief editor of the Ekho Moskvy radio station also said she had left the country.

According to the law enforcement sources, Sobol was expected to fly to another country from Istanbul, but her final destination, as well as her current whereabouts, are unknown.

“According to some reports, Sobol left for Istanbul,” Interfax quoted an unnamed source as saying on Aug. 8. 

The state-run Ren TV broadcaster, also citing an unnamed source, claimed that she flew to Istanbul via Vnukovo Airport on Aug. 7 as a stopover toward an unknown location.

The 33-year-old is one of the most well-known faces of Navalny's entourage. She stayed behind in Moscow this year as other close political allies fled fearing prosecution ahead of September's parliamentary elections.

Sobol was sentenced to 1-1/2 years of parole-like restrictions on Aug. 3 for flouting COVID-19 curbs on protests, a charge she called politically-motivated nonsense. The restrictions included not being allowed to leave home at night.

After the ruling, she said on Ekho Moskvy radio station that the sentence had not yet come into force and that the restrictions were not effective. "Essentially, you can interpret this as the possibility of leaving the country," she said.

Navalny's allies have faced mounting pressure. This week a June court ruling formally came into force outlawing the nationwide activist network built up by Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's fiercest domestic opponent, as "extremist." 

Navalny himself is serving 2-1/2 years in jail for parole violations in an embezzlement case he says was trumped up. 

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