Russian opposition figure Kara-Murza has disappeared from prison, colleagues say

By The Associated Press

Supporters of prominent Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. says he has disappeared from the Siberian prison where he was behind bars. The 42-year-old Kara-Murza is serving a 25-year sentence for treason. He was held in a prison in the Omsk region. But a letter sent to him by an activist and journalist was returned with the notation that Kara-Murza was no longer there. A lawyer for Kara-Murza said another lawyer who tried to visit him on Monday was told that he wasn’t in the prison. Transfers within Russia’s prison system are shrouded in secrecy and inmates can disappear from contact for several weeks.