Russian police have dispersed a crowd of supporters of the opposition leader who arrived to greet him at the airport in Nokovo, Moscow • Several of Navalny's aides have been arrested
Nabalani before departure from Berlin // Photo: Reuters
The plane of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been diverted by Russian aviation authorities to land at Sheremetyevo airport, following a riot that broke out at the airport where it was supposed to land south of Moscow.
Navalny took off today from Berlin for Moscow intending to return to his country after three months in hospital and recovery, after being poisoned in a failed assassination attempt.
Police cleared a crowd of supporters of opposition activists from the airport and the nominal value, which is expected to land.
Police arrested eight of Navalny's staff and removed them from the airport.
Large forces of riot police and detainee vehicles arrived at the scene.
Authorities in Russia have issued a restraining order against Navalny for violating a suspended sentence imposed following an embezzlement case in 2014. Various sources in the Kremlin reported that Navalny may be arrested as soon as he enters Russia, but the issue is still unclear.
Nabalani's return is another defiance of the opposition man against Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is apparently behind the attempts to end the leader's life.
The details of the assassination attempt and the identities of members of the assassination squad were revealed last year in a document published by the investigative website "Belinket" and caused severe embarrassment to the Russian security services.
