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Navalny was arrested while preparing to stamp his passport with his wife at a Moscow airport (France Press)
The Russian prison authorities arrested the opposition Alexei Navalny this Sunday, shortly after his arrival in Moscow from Germany, where he spent a period of convalescence for several months, after surviving an alleged poisoning, and his arrest demanded the immediate conviction of the European Union and United States.
Russian prison authorities have been pursuing the 44-year-old Navalny since the end of December, claiming he violated the terms of a suspended prison sentence handed down against him in 2014.
As he was preparing to stamp his passport with his wife Yulia at an airport in the Russian capital, police officers approached him and took him away, according to Agence France-Presse correspondents.
The authorities explained that Navalny “has been on the list of wanted persons since December 29, 2020, on charges of repeated violations of the transitional period,” stating that “he will remain in detention until the court makes a decision” on him, without specifying when this order will be given.
On Thursday, authorities threatened to arrest Navalny as soon as he arrived in Russia, arguing that he did not appear before him twice a month, under the terms of a five-year suspended prison sentence handed down against him in 2014.
At the last minute, the plane that had taken Navalny from Berlin to another airport was diverted, while most of his allies were detained.
After the plane landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, the plane carrying Navalny landed at Sheremetyevo airport at 12:20 (1712 GMT), about three hours after taking off from Berlin, according to AFP journalists. on board.
At Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, where the opposition was expected to arrive, the police arrested most of his allies who came to meet him, including Lyubov Sobol, the well-known Russian opponent, who was arrested a few weeks ago. Subsequently, all the detainees were released.
According to the non-governmental organization “OVD-Info”, the number of people arrested on Sunday in Moscow and St. Petersburg in connection with the return of Navalny to almost 65 people.
– A total of 69 people were arrested in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, 62 of them in the capital. The people were transferred to 10 police stations. Among those arrested were two minors, their parents took them away. Police also detained at least six journalists.
– Information from OVD (@OvdInfo) January 18, 2021
A heavy deployment of riot police was noted, gradually dispersing some two hundred Navalny sympathizers who had come to meet him.
Ivan Djanov, close to Navalny, wrote on Twitter that opposition allies were accused of “disobeying” the police.
Navalny commented from Berlin airport: “As usual, what distinguishes the Russian authorities is their fear”, expressing his “great pleasure” to return and stressing that “there is nothing to fear in Russia.
The European Union was quick, according to its President of the Council, Charles Michel, to reject Navalny’s arrest, calling for his “immediate” release.
Alexey’s arrest #Navalny upon arrival in Moscow is unacceptable.
I call on the Russian authorities to release him immediately.
– Charles Michel (@eucopresident) January 17, 2021
On Sunday, Lithuania called on the European Union “to discuss (impose) new sanctions” on Russia for Navalny’s arrest, while Poland called for “a swift and decisive response at the level of the European Union.”
For its part, France called for the “immediate release” of the Russian dissident, and the French Foreign Ministry announced that it was “following his situation with its European partners with the utmost vigilance.”
Ottawa described Navalny’s arrest as “unacceptable.”
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States “strongly condemns” Navalny’s arrest, saying that “his arrest is the latest in a series of attempts to silence Navalny and other opposition figures. and independent voices critical of the Russian authorities. “
Deeply concerned about Russia’s decision to arrest Aleksey Navalny. Confident political leaders do not fear competing voices, nor do they see the need to commit acts of violence or unjustly detain political opponents.
– Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 18, 2021
In turn, Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to the president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, called for the “immediate release” of the Russian dissident and the “responsibility” of those responsible for his poisoning in August.
Mr. Navalny must be released immediately and the perpetrators of the scandalous attack on his life must be held accountable. The Kremlin’s attacks on Navalny are not just a violation of human rights, but an affront to the Russian people who want their voice to be heard.
– Jake Sullivan (@jakejsullivan) January 17, 2021
On Facebook, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called on foreign officials to “respect international law” and “take care of their own affairs.”
And Amnesty International said Sunday that Navalny’s arrest makes him a “prisoner of conscience”, the victim of a “relentless campaign” by the Russian authorities to “silence him.”
Accusation and denial
He has been living in Germany since the end of August after falling seriously ill during his return trip from Siberia to Moscow as part of an election campaign. He was hospitalized in Omsk, where he remained for 48 hours, then he was transferred to Berlin in a coma under pressure from those close to him.
Navalny was discharged from the hospital in early September and three European laboratories concluded that he had been poisoned with Novichok, which was developed during the Soviet era for military purposes. This conclusion has been confirmed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, despite repeated denials from Moscow.
Navalny says Russian security services were orchestrated to assassinate him on the direct order of Vladimir Putin.
Moscow completely denies the poisoning process, despite the results of European laboratories showing that it was poisoned.
So far, Russia has refused to open a criminal investigation to find out what happened to Navalny, on the pretext that Germany is refusing to pass on his data to Russia.
But Germany announced on Saturday that it had sent most of the elements of the judicial investigation into the alleged Navalny poisoning to Moscow.
In particular, the elements of the file that were transferred to the Russian judicial authorities include “records of the Navalny interrogation sessions” by German investigators, as well as “blood, tissue and clothing samples”. Germany said it now hopes that Moscow “will shed light on this crime.”
On Sunday, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Moscow had received the documents sent by Germany, but made it clear that they “basically do not include anything” that Moscow requested.
Until now, Russia has refused to open a criminal investigation to find out what happened to Navalny, on the pretext that Germany is refusing to transfer his data to Russia.
Navalny, who is ignored by the Russian media and is not represented in parliament, and has no right to run due to his conviction for tax evasion, which he described as a political decision, remains the most prominent voice of the opposition, mainly due to to his YouTube channel, which is viewed by 4.8 million people and his organization. On anti-corruption.
Although Navalny was repeatedly prosecuted and sentenced to brief prison terms, this anti-corruption activist managed to organize many demonstrations that were closely followed, while his electoral strategies led to several shameful losses of power in local rights.
However, its fame is limited outside of the major cities. According to an opinion poll conducted by the independent Levada Center, only 20% of Russians supported Navalny’s measure, while 50% rejected it. As for the rest, they had never heard of the opposition or refused to express their views.
(Brush from France)
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