EU, U.S demand release of Russian opposition leader, Navalny

The United States and several European governments have demanded the release of opposition politician, Alexei Navalny from Russian detention.

 

Mr Navalny, 44, was detained soon after his flight from Germany landed in Moscow on Sunday.

 

He was returning to the country five months after he was almost killed in a nerve-agent attack he blamed on the Kremlin, but Moscow has denied involvement.

 

The US and European Union have led calls for Mr Navalny to be freed, but have stopped short of threatening any punitive action.

 

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Russian authorities were trying to silence their critics. He called for Mr Navalny’s “immediate and unconditional release”.

 

US President-elect, Joe Biden’s incoming national security adviser stuck a similar tone, saying: “The Kremlin’s attacks on Mr Navalny are not just a violation of human rights, but an affront to the Russian people who want their voices heard.”

 

The response from the EU was equally strong, with France, Italy and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, among those issuing demands for his release.

 

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas described the arrest as “totally incomprehensible”.

 

UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab said Mr Navalny’s arrest was “appalling” and called for his immediate release.

 

“Rather than persecuting Mr Navalny, Russia should explain how a chemical weapon came to be used on Russian soil,” he said.

 

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, dismissed the international condemnation saying Western politicians were using it as a way to “divert attention” from domestic problems.

 

Russia’s prison service on Sunday said the Kremlin critic had violated the terms of his suspended sentence for embezzlement, and that he would remain in custody until a court ruling.

 

Mr Navalny’s team said a court hearing was organised on Monday at a police station on the outskirts of Moscow.

 

In a video released by his spokeswoman, Mr Navalny described the hearing as “lawlessness of the highest grade”.

 

In a statement late on Sunday, Russia’s prison service said the opposition leader “had been wanted since 29 December 2020 for repeated violations of the probation period”. It added that he would remain in custody until a court decision.

 

The authorities accuse him of violating conditions imposed after a conviction for embezzlement, for which he received a suspended sentence

 

He has always said the case was politically motivated.

 

Separately, Russian prosecutors have launched a new criminal case against Mr Navalny on fraud charges related to transfers of money to various charities, including his Anti-Corruption Foundation.

 

The activist accuses Mr Putin of targeting him with spurious cases