January 18th – On January 17th local time, Russian opposition Navaline was arrested after returning to Russia from Germany.
The Moscow Branch of the Russian Federal Prison Administration said that it had violated the probation regulations many times, and the court would make a relevant ruling after the investigation.
After Jack Sullivan, the national security adviser to President-elect Biden, called for the release of Navarine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Zaharova responded, saying that foreign politicians should respect international law and focus on their own domestic problems.
According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, Sullivan said about Navaline’s arrest that “Navaline should be released immediately” and mentioned that the opposition figure’s “human rights have been violated”.
Subsequently, Zaharova responded on social media: “I want to tell Sullivan (and many other foreign activists who have made pre-prepared comments) that please respect international law and not infringe on the national laws of sovereign countries. You should deal with your own country’s problems.”
On August 20, 2020, Navalline suddenly felt unwell on the way to a domestic flight in Russia and was rushed to hospital for treatment. Later, he was allowed to leave the country for treatment in a hospital in Berlin, Germany.
Since then, European countries such as Germany said that the investigation found that Navalline was in the “Novichok” type of nerve agents. Russia denied the European accusation that it led the “poisoning” incident in Navaline.
Navaline earlier announced that he intended to return to Russia on January 17, 2021. According to the order issued by the director of the Moscow Prison Administration on December 29, 2020, Navaline’s arrest upon his return to Moscow is justified for repeated violations of probation.
It is reported that Navaline has been sentenced twice. The first was the embezzlement of 16 million roubles of the property of Kirov Timber Company, and the other was the embezzlement of 30 million roubles in the “Ivrosa” case.
