GULAG’d: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny sentenced to prison in penal colony outside of Moscow

It was uncertain where Navalny was located since Thursday, until it was learned that he was brought one of Moscow’s most infamous jails, Reuters reports.

Navalny was arrested after returning to Russia from Germany reportedly for violating his parole.

He has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, and was recently transferred to a penal colony in the Vladimir region, according to the Moscow Public Monitoring Commission. The location is in the town of Pokrov, about 100 km (60 miles) east of Moscow, according to state news agency TASS.

Activist Ruslan Vakhapov, of the prisoners' rights group Jailed Russia, said that conditions at the penal colony were especially severe.

"In short, it’s a bad colony," Vakhapov told Reuters.

Prisoners are used by the colony administration to help control the inmate population, the activist explained.

“If there is a need to prevent Navalny from communicating with others, nobody would talk to him,” he said. "(If anything happens), he wouldn’t be able to ask for help until his lawyer arrives."

Navalny will reportedly be quarantined as a precaution against COVID-19 before being integrated fully into the colony, according to Reuters.

Navalny's imprisonment sparked massive violent demonstrations by activists in late Janary across Russia. Navalny is responsible for heading a movement against the current Putin administration.