December 28th, the Russian Prison Administration issued an “ultimatum” to Navalline, the leader of the Russian opposition in Germany, ordering him to attend the hearing expected to be held on the morning of the 29th local time.
If he fails to return to Russia within the deadline, he will bear legal responsibility.
CNN reported on the 29th that the Russian Prison Administration quoted the report of the Lancet, a well-known academic journal in the medical field, in a statement issued on the 28th local time, that Navalline was discharged from the hospital on September 20 and recovered on October 12.
The Russian Prison Service said that Navaline had remained in Germany since the recovery of the disease, “evading” the supervision of the Russian criminal prosecution department, in violation of the probation. The bureau ordered Navaline to attend the hearing expected to be held on the 29th local time. If he fails to attend, he will bear legal responsibility and be sentenced to prison.
According to previous reports, on December 30, 2014, Navaline was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to prison with a three-and-a-half-year suspension of execution.
However, under pressure from many European politicians and demonstrations in Russia, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation overturned the judgment in 2016. However, on February 8, 2017, Kirov Leninsky District Court sentenced Navaline to five years’ probation again.
Navaline said that he had indeed received an order from the Russian criminal prosecution to return to Russia before 9 a.m. local time on the 29th.
In response, a spokesman for Navalline said that Navaline is still recovering after “poisoning” and it is impossible to return to Russia before the deadline.
Navaline was unconscious on a flight from Siberia to Moscow in August and was transferred to Germany for further treatment after a brief hospitalization in Russia.
Western countries such as Germany have accused the Russian government of responsibility for this, but the Russian government has always denied involvement in the Navaline incident.
