Russian opposition leader Navalny is escorted away by police after a court hearing in Khimki, outside Moscow. (Jan. 18, 2021)
A Moscow judge has ruled that Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who arrived in Russia Sunday, should be held in police custody for 30 days.
Navalny was arrested on his arrival in Moscow Sunday evening. It was the Russian opposition politician’s first return to his home country since he was poisoned and transferred abroad for treatment last August.
Navalny was arrested by police wearing a black mask as he entered passport control at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on his arrival from Germany.
Best day ever
In a brief statement to reporters before his arrest, Navalny said, “I am happy to be back, this is my best day in five months.”
Before his return, Navalny endured a thrilling journey of nearly five months that began last August. At the time, he was poisoned while traveling in Siberia with a Soviet-era military-grade nerve agent.
Navalny has publicly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering Russian security agencies to carry out the attack. The Kremlin, for its part, has vehemently denied this allegation.
An independent media investigation later alleged that Russian Federal Security Service agents had been tracking the opposition politician for months, days and even hours prior to the attack.
Russian authorities, however, said Sunday’s detention of Navalny was justified. Authorities contend that Navalny was arrested only for violating his parole, which was linked to a suspended sentence in 2014 and his treatment abroad.
“Further measures regarding Navalny will be decided by the court,” the Russian Prisons Service said in a statement.
The Russian government has launched three other criminal investigations against the opposition leader. His supporters say the actions are an attempt to force Navalny into exile.
He faces a minimum of three-and-a-half years in prison.
Navalny said of the possibility of jail time, “I’m not afraid. I know I’m in the right. I know that all the criminal cases against me were faked.”
For years, the Kremlin has tried to downplay Navalny’s political importance, even repeatedly referring to him as “a Berlin patient” or “a blogger” after the August attack instead of calling him by his first name.
Even in response to questions about Navalny’s arrest Sunday, Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov continued to claim ignorance, even though the incident was a major domestic and international news headline.
“Excuse me. He was arrested in Germany?” Peskov said. “I didn’t hear about it.”
No supporters allowed to greet him at the airport
Navalny’s return brought other surprises.
The plane Navalny was on was operated by Victory Airlines, which is linked to the Russian government. The plane was scheduled to land at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport.
Thousands of Navalny’s supporters gathered outside the airport terminal in the -20 degree Celsius cold to show their support for him. In their minds, Navalny is the leader of the Russian opposition.
In an interview with the Voice of America, Anna, a 37-year-old Moscow librarian, said, “Alexei Navalny is an inspiration to many Russians. He is not afraid. He is not afraid to die or to be put in prison.”
Ilya, 18, a student at the Moscow Higher School of Economics, said, “People are proud of him. He can’t not go back to his country. He couldn’t become a politician abroad, couldn’t fight the authorities.”
His friend, Alexei, 18, added: “If they arrest him, he will be like Nelson Mandela.” He was referring to Mandela, the political great of South Africa.
The Moscow Prosecutor General’s Office has warned that solidarity with Navalny is illegal because the event was not approved by authorities.
The airport is also not allowing the media in, citing new coronavirus precautions.
But airport officials did not mind the impromptu crowd of fans who had arrived hoping to welcome back Russian pop star Olga Buzova.
Meanwhile, police equipped with riot gear arrested dozens of people outside, while the crowd chanted “shame” and “Navalny is our president. The crowd dispersed after the news came that the plane would land at Sheremetyevo airport.
At Sheremetyevo airport, several hundred well-wishers were able to greet Navalny’s wife Yulia. Her husband was not with her when she came out of the gates.
An applause broke out in the arrival area.
International condemnation
News of Navalny’s arrest was followed by international condemnation.
The United States strongly condemned Navalny’s arrest and demanded his immediate and unconditional release.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Sunday, “We note and are deeply concerned that the detention of Navalny is the latest action by Russian authorities to try to deny him and other opposition figures, as well as unaffiliated critics of the authorities, a voice.”
Pompeo said, “Confident political leaders do not fear competing voices and do not target political opponents for violence or wrongfully arrest them.” He added that the Russian people deserve to be able to “exercise their basic human rights to freedom of speech and assembly without fear of retaliation.”
Jack Sullivan, who will soon serve as President-elect Joe Biden’s U.S. national security adviser, tweeted, “Navalny should be released immediately and his killers who outrageously murdered his life must be held accountable.
Sullivan added: “The Kremlin’s attack on Navalny is not just a human rights violation, but an affront to the Russian people who want their voices to be heard.”
EU Council President Charles Michel called Navalny’s arrest “unacceptable” and called for his freedom to be restored.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Monday condemned Navalny’s arrest on Twitter, calling the action “appalling” and calling for his immediate release.
Raab said, “Appalling that Alexei Navalny, the victim of a despicable crime, has been arrested by the Russian authorities.”
He added: “He must be released immediately. What Russia should do is not to prosecute Navalny, but to explain how chemical weapons were used in Russia.”
It is unclear what measures Western governments are likely to take.
Officials in Lithuania and the Czech Republic have said they will explore imposing more sanctions on the Kremlin over the incident.
Siberian poisoning
Navalny fell ill on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow last August, where he was treated in a Siberian hospital and put into a drug-induced artificial coma before being transferred to a hospital in Berlin, Germany, for treatment.
Laboratory tests in three European countries confirmed that what poisoned Navalny was a nerve agent belonging to the Novichok group. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed this conclusion.
The findings led the European Union to impose sanctions on six Russian officials and a state-owned research institute.
Russian authorities claim that no traces of the poison were found on Navalny’s body before he was transferred by plane to Germany. Russian authorities have refused to open a criminal investigation into the incident.
On the eve of Navalny’s return to Russia, German authorities provided more information about the case, including blood and tissue samples.
A German Justice Ministry spokesman said Berlin expects that “the Russian government will now immediately take all necessary measures to account for the crimes committed against Navalny.”
The spokesman said, “This crime must be solved in Russia.”
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