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Arrest of opponent Alexei Navalny increases tension between Russia and the West

2021-01-18T19:04:45.002Z


He was detained as soon as he landed in Moscow on Sunday after recovering from the poisoning for which, according to investigations, the Russian intelligence service is responsible. World leaders condemn the arrest and call for his release.


Western countries reacted on Monday to the arrest of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny over the weekend.

World leaders, including Joe Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, have called for his immediate release.

Navalny was arrested on Sunday when he arrived in Moscow at Sheremetyevo airport.

He was returning from Berlin after recovering from the poisoning he suffered last August and for which the Kremlin is singled out.

Navalny's arrest

adds further strain on relations between Moscow and the West

, which worsened after his poisoning.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called it "incomprehensible" that the Russian authorities detained Navalny.

He added that the opposition leader returned to Moscow of his own free will.

"Russia is bound by its own Constitution and by international commitments to the principle of the rule of law and the protection of civil rights," Maas said.

"These principles must of course also apply to Alexei Navalny. He

must be released immediately,

" he said.

[Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny comes out of a coma after suspected of being poisoned]

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and senior officials from other nations of the European Union also demanded the release of the leader. Russian opponent.

The National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, appointed by President-elect Joe Biden, also spoke:

"Mr. Navalny must be released immediately

and the perpetrators of the scandalous attempt on his life must be held accountable."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also condemned Navalny's arrest.

Vladimir Putin congratulates Joe Biden on being ratified as US president-elect.

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The Russian politician's allies said on Monday that Navalny was being held outside Moscow and

had been denied access to his lawyers

who warned that a hearing was being held at the same place of detention to determine whether he should remain in detention.   

"What happens there is impossible," Navalny said in a video from the improvised court that was posted on his Telegram messaging profile.

"This is illegality at its highest level."

[What is novichok, the nerve agent that could have poisoned a former Russian spy?]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that the reactions by Western officials reflected an attempt to

"divert attention from the crisis away from the Western development model

.

"

The latest revelation about the opposition politician's poisoning investigations is that a special chemical weapons division of the Russian intelligence service was behind the attack on Navalny.

With information from the Associated Press and NBC News.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2021-01-18

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