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European Council President Charles Michel on Sunday condemned Navaln’s arrest as “unacceptable” and called on the Russian authorities to release him immediately.
Navaln was detained at the Moscow airport on Sunday night when he returned to his homeland from Germany.
“The arrest of Alexei Navaln upon his arrival in Moscow is unacceptable. I call on the Russian authorities to release him immediately,” chap. Michelis.
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
The head of European Union diplomacy, Josep Borrell, also called for the release of the opposition.
“The Russian authorities must respect the rights of Alexei Navaln and release him immediately. The politicization of the judiciary is unacceptable,” Borrell wrote on Twitter.
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia call on the EU to consider imposing sanctions on Russia if Kremlin critic A. Navaln, detained in Moscow, is not released.
‘A. Navalno’s arrest is completely unacceptable. We demand their immediate release. The EU should act quickly and, if it is not released, we must consider introducing restrictive measures in response to this terrible action, ”Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis wrote on Twitter. According to the minister, this is the common position of the Baltic states.
Moscow must “immediately” release criticism of the Kremlin, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday.
Navaln “made the conscious decision to return to Russia because he considered it his personal and political home,” Massas said, adding that it was “completely incomprehensible” that the Russian authorities detained him as soon as he returned.
Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser to President-elect Joe Biden, called on Russia Sunday to release Navalna immediately.
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
“Mr. Navaln must be released immediately and the perpetrators responsible for the scandalous attack on his life must be brought to justice,” Sullivan wrote on Twitter.
“The Kremlin’s attacks on Mr. Navalna are not only a violation of human rights, but also an insult to the Russian people who seek to be heard,” added Biden’s adviser.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, called on foreign diplomats to “respect international law, not violate the laws of independent states and deal with the problems of their own country.”
“Forgive him, he was detained in Germany> I don’t know anything,” said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, of Navaln’s arrest. He said he did not follow up because he is on vacation at the moment.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that the United States “strongly condemns” Navaln’s arrest.
“The United States strongly condemns Russia’s decision to arrest Alexei Navalna,” Pompeo said in a statement.
“We note with serious concern that his arrest is the latest in a series of attempts to silence Navalna and other opposition figures and independent voices criticizing the Russian authorities,” he added.
Pompeo said: “Navaln is not a problem. We demand his immediate and unconditional release. “
“Insured political leaders do not fear competing voices, do not use violence against political opponents and do not detain them illegally,” he added.
Canadian Chancellor Marc Garneau, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová, European People’s Party Chairman Donald Tusk, Democratic US Senator Bernie Sanders and many other politicians are calling for Navalna to be released on Twitter.
Russian opposition politician @Navalny it must be released without delay. Other detainees should also be released upon arrival. Russia should investigate the Navalny poisoning, protect the opposition rights that belong to any democracy.
– Sanna Marin (@MarinSanna) January 18, 2021
Human rights organizations have joined the demands and Amnesty International has claimed that Navaln has become a prisoner of conscience and has accused the Russian authorities of waging a “relentless campaign” to silence him.
Navaln was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport less than an hour after his plane landed in Germany.
The 44-year-old opposition leader returned to Moscow from Germany, where he was treated for several months after trying to poison him. According to A. Navaln, this attempt was organized on the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The politician felt ill during a flight from Siberia to Moscow in August and was later flown by medical plane to Berlin.
Western experts discovered that he was poisoned by the nerve paralyzing substance Novičiok, developed in the Soviet Union.
The attack intensified tensions between the bloc and its eastern neighbor.
In December, Russia adopted “unjustified” retaliatory sanctions against Germany due to the sanctions imposed by the EU after the poisoning.
Moscow announced a travel ban for several EU representatives after Brussels imposed sanctions on six Russian officials.
The EU list included six people close to the Kremlin who, according to the EU, were in one way or another responsible for poisoning Navaln on his charges.
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