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| Russian dissident activist Alexey Navalni. © AFP=News1 |
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s politician Alexey Navalni, 44, who returned to his country after being treated in Germany after a poison terrorist attack, was arrested on the 18th (local time) on the 30th.
According to Reuters, Navalni’s lawyer said on Twitter that day, “The Moscow court sentenced Navalni to arrest for 30 days until February 15th.”
As soon as Navalni arrived at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport the day before, he was arrested by federal enforcement agents and detained at the Khimki police station near the airport.
In a video posted on Twitter shortly after his detention, Navalni urged the Russians to protest massive anti-government, saying, “Do not be afraid, go out on the streets, not for me, but for you and your future.” “Do not be silent. Resist,” he emphasized again.
On that day, about 20,000 Navalni supporters gathered at the police station even in -18 degrees Celsius and demanded Navalni’s release, Reuters said. Navalni also accused the court of imprisonment of being “lawless,” and “putin panicked and thrown the law out the window.”
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| On the 18th (local time), supporters of Alexei Navalni hold a protest at the Khimki Police Station near Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow, Russia demanding the release of Navalni. © AFP=News1 |
The news of Navalni’s detention prompted the release of the United Nations and Western countries. Jake Sullivan, appointed as White House National Security Adviser to the next US administration by Joe Biden, demanded immediate release and argued that “the Russian attack on Navalni is an insult to the Russian people.”
The UN Human Rights Office demanded that Russia adhere to appropriate procedures consistent with the rule of law, and the Czech Foreign Minister said it would like to discuss further sanctions against Russia.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs replied, “Respect international law. Do not infringe on the jurisdiction of other countries, and solve your domestic problems.”
Navalni collapsed on a Russian domestic flight in August last year showing symptoms of poison, and was transferred to Germany to receive treatment, recover consciousness, and return to Korea the day before.
Germany and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) announced that Navalni’s body had been detected in Navalni’s body in the 1970s and 1980s. He denies allegations of poisoning.