Navalny becomes prisoner of conscience upon arrest in Russia
- George Hazell
- Feb 28, 2021
- 2 min read
Originally posted: 29th January 2021
Putin’s most prominent critic in Russia, Alexie Navalny, was detained upon entering Russia’s Sheremetyevo airport on the 17th of January. Navalny was surrounded by Russian Police within minutes of his landing and threatened with the use of force. Despite his pleas, Navalny’s lawyer was not allowed to accompany him.
Navalny had flown in from Germany, where he had been recovering from a poisoning on an internal flight in Siberia last August. Navalny alleges the poisoning was an attempt on his life from Russian Authorities, which of course Putin denies. The evidence, though, backs up Navalny’s claims. European experts found he had been poisoned by Novichok, a deadly nerve agent developed by Soviet scientists in the Cold War. Investigative reporters have also backed up Navalny’s claims, identifying three Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agents who had tailed him in Siberia. Navalny was even able to dupe an FSB agent into revealing details of the operation against him in a phone call, which he later posted online.
Russia claim they are detaining Navalny for violating terms imposed after a conviction for embezzlement. In addition, they are pursuing fraud charges against him, citing transfers of money to various charities, including his own Anti-Corruption Foundation. Navalny claims such charges are fabricated and politically motivated, which seems very plausible given the current evidence against Russia.
The reason the Kremlin are so worried about Navalny is now clear to see. Thousands have gathered to greet him when he landed in Russia, before the plane had to be ‘diverted’. Riot police had to be deployed to keep the activists at bay. Russian media have also reported that a number of activists, including Lyubov Sobol, a key ally of Navalny, have been detained.
Since then, public outcry has only increased. Hundreds more people have been detained this weekend, including Navalny’s wife, in light of nationwide protests. Some sources say up to 15,000 people turned up at the protest in Moscow.
Amnesty have declared Navalny a prisoner of conscience; he is being detained because of peaceful political protest and for exercising his right to free speech. Not only should he be released along with his supporters, there should be a fair investigation into his poisoning, with those responsible brought to justice. Given the current situation, such a turn of events is unlikely, but perhaps the pressure from within Russia, fuelled by Navalny’s return, can go some way towards helping to achieve justice.
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