Jailed Father Of Navalny Associate Transferred To Prison Hospital

By RFE/RL

The jailed father of Ivan Zhdanov, a close associate of jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, has been transferred to a prison hospital for unspecified reasons.

Zhdanov tweeted on July 12 that his 67-year-old father, Yury, had been transferred from a detention center in the northwestern city of Arkhangelsk to the Federal Penitentiary Service's regional hospital for inmates "for tests."

"He feels fine.... Nobody knows or is talking about the diagnosis used as the basis for his transfer.... But there is practically no contact with him," Zhdanov, the former director of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), said on Twitter.

Yury Zhdanov was arrested in late March.

Investigators accuse Yury Zhdanov of recommending that a remote town’s administration, where he worked as an official before his retirement last year, provide a local woman with a subsidized apartment, though it later turned out that the woman's family had previously received housing allocations.

The apartment was later returned to municipal ownership in accordance with a court decision and no one among those who made the decision was held responsible.

In mid-May, Yury Zhdanov was officially charged with fraud and forgery. If convicted, he may face up to 10 years in prison.

Ivan Zhdanov has condemned the case against his father and accuses Russia's presidential administration of trying to pressure him by arresting his father.

Navalny's FBK was known for publishing investigative reports about corruption among Russia's top officials, including President Vladimir Putin.

Last month, FBK and other groups associated with Navalny were labeled as extremist and banned in Russia.