MOSCOW — A Russian court cleared the way on Saturday for the possible transfer of the opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny to the country’s penal colony system, the latest step by the authorities to silence the man who has become the country’s most vocal critic of President Vladimir V. Putin. The court rejected Mr. Navalny’s last possible appeal before such a transfer, but it remains unclear whether or when he will leave his cell in a high-security prison in Moscow. He could be held there for further court appearances on other pending legal matters. Mr. Navalny was detained in January upon returning from Germany, where he was being treated for a near-lethal poisoning with a nerve agent last year — an act that he and Western governments blamed on the Kremlin. On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights, whose jurisdiction is recognized by Russia, ruled that Mr. Navalny must be released immediately from prison.

Source: New York Times February 20, 2021 09:16 UTC