Navalny, 44, the founder of the Russian Anti-Corruption Foundation, was arrested at the airport on his return to Russia on Sunday and ordered by a Russian court to be held in pre-trial detention for 30 days until Feb. 15 on the 18th. He then called on the public to take to the streets to protest his treatment by authorities through a video.
AFP reported that Russian authorities held a hasty court hearing for Navalny on Monday at the police station where he was detained. The 44-year-old Navalny, a top critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was sent to Germany for treatment after his life was saved last August after he was suspected of being poisoned and nearly killed.
Navalny was arrested by police on his arrival at Sheremetyevo airport in the capital Moscow on Sunday evening and taken into custody at a police station in the Moscow suburb of Khimki.
A growing number of Western countries have called on Russian authorities to release him immediately. In a video of the interrogation uploaded by Navalny’s team, an incredulous Navalny said he did not understand why the interrogation took place inside the police station and why no one was notified until the last minute. Navalny said: “I have seen too many mockeries of justice, but the old man inside the bunker (Putin) was so afraid that he openly tore up and abandoned “the Russian criminal code. It was the height of lawlessness.
Since only pro-Kremlin media were allowed to attend the trial, Navalny called for all journalists to be allowed to attend in a separate video. I asked that this procedure be made as open as possible, so that all media would have the opportunity to observe the absurdity of the spectacle taking place here. “About 100 people, mostly journalists, gathered outside the police station where Navalny is being held on Monday. Several unlit police vehicles were also on standby nearby.
The Central News Agency reported that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said Monday that Navalny’s arrest was a serious concern and called on Moscow to release him immediately. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet tweeted, reiterating that an impartial investigation into the poisoning of Navalny should be launched. Western experts have determined that Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, a nerve agent developed during the Soviet era. We are deeply troubled by Navalny’s arrest and call for his immediate release and the guarantee of his right to a due process trial in accordance with the rule of law,” Bachelet wrote. We also reiterate our call for a thorough and impartial investigation into the poisoning of him.” Reuters reported that both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Johnson also called on Monday through their spokespersons for the immediate release of Navalny by Russian authorities.
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