Alexei Navalny was barely back on Russian soil when the authorities arrested him.
This sparked outrage around the world.
Lawyers have not been able to speak to Navalny since then.
Update from January 18, 10:39 am:
The spokeswoman for Kremlin critic
Alexej
Navalny, Kira Jarmysch, tweeted that the trial against him would take place "now" - Moscow time 12.30 pm, German time 10.30 am.
What that means exactly is still unclear.
Previously,
according to his staff, there was no trace of the
Kremlin critic
Alexej
Navalny, who was imprisoned immediately after his return to Moscow
.
"Alexej has been in
custody
for 14 hours
, he was not allowed to make calls, although all those arrested have this right," said his spokeswoman Kira Jarmysch on Monday in the short message service Twitter.
Суд по Алексею состоится СЕЙЧАС.
12.30, Химки, проспект Мира 23А, в здании 2 ОП УМВД
- Кира Ярмыш (@Kira_Yarmysh) January 18, 2021
Navalny is
suspected of
being in a police station in Khimki,
Moscow
region.
But it is unclear whether he is really there, said the head of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), Ivan Zhdanov.
"Nobody saw him there," he wrote on Twitter.
The
lawyer Nawalnys
, Olga Mikhailova, complained since Sunday evening that she could not take care of their clients.
You will not be admitted, she told the Echo Moskvy radio station on Monday in front of the police station.
At around 9:30 a.m. German time, however, spokeswoman Jarmysch wrote on Twitter that the lawyers were allowed to enter a building, but they are still not allowed to see Navalny.
Navalny's last moments with his wife: hug before he is taken away
Shortly before Navalny went to passport control on Sunday, where he was arrested, he was extremely optimistic: “I'm not afraid,” he said after landing.
“I'll get out and go home because I know I'm right.” Accompanied by a large number of journalists,
Navalny
then runs to the control.
A video shows him hugging his wife Julia one last time before
speaking
to officials from
Russia
.
He must follow them, they were allowed to enter the country unhindered.
The Russian penitentiary system justified the arrest with violations of
probation conditions
in a previous criminal case.
Therefore
Navalny was put out
to be searched.
Until the decision of the court he remains in custody, it said.
The trial is on January 29th.
The Kremlin critic was last in Germany for five months, where he was recovering from the attack with the neurotoxin Novichok in Russia.
+
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny (M) and his wife Julia while he is being held by police at passport control upon arrival at Sheremetyevo Airport.
© Mstyslav Chernov / AP / dpa
Alexej Navalny: Federal government intervenes - Maas demands immediate release
Update from January 18, 7.49 a.m.:
Federal Foreign Minister
Heiko Maas
(SPD) has called for the immediate release of the
Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny, who was
arrested in Russia on Sunday
.
“After his recovery, Alexej Navalny made a conscious decision to return to Russia because he sees his personal and political home there.
That he was arrested by the Russian authorities immediately upon arrival is completely incomprehensible, ”said Maas on Monday morning.
Russia was bound by its own constitution and international obligations to the rule of law and the protection of civil rights.
“Of course, these principles must also be applied to
Alexei Navalny
.
He should be released immediately, ”stressed Maas.
Navalny was the victim of a serious
poison attack
on Russian soil.
"We continue to expect that Russia will do everything it can to fully investigate this attack and bring the perpetrators to justice."
The
US government also
demanded the immediate release of Navalny.
"The United States strongly condemns Russia's decision to arrest Alexei Navalny," said US Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo
on Sunday evening (local time).
"We note with great concern that his arrest is the latest in a series of attempts to silence Navalny and other opposition and independent voices critical of the Russian authorities." The Russian government must have a level playing field create political parties and candidates who want to participate in the electoral process.
After the arrest of Alexej Navalnys: his team sees political staging
Update from January 17, 10:11 p.m
.: The arrest of
Alexej Nawalny is
causing
a wave of outrage worldwide:
According to
the
dpa
,
his team sees his arrest
as a political staging that
is supposed to silence
the
Kremlin critic
- and is apparently not alone with this view .
Amnesty International has
declared
the arrest of the
opposition politician
to be
“unlawful”
, who is now to
remain in custody
until the
January 29
trial.
This is further evidence that the
Russian authorities
only want to silence him, the human rights organization said on Sunday evening.
For
Manuel Sarrazin
, spokesman for Eastern European policy in the Bundestag, the situation seems to be just as clear: “The Kremlin and
Vladimir Putin
want to take
Alexei Navalny
out of circulation
in this
Duma election year
at all costs,” he declared and called for solidarity.
The future
US security advisor Jake Sullivan
also called for the immediate release of Nawalny
on Twitter.
In addition, five months ago, those responsible for his poisoning must finally be brought to justice: "The Kremlin's attacks on Mr Navalny are not only a violation of
human rights
, but an affront to the Russian people who want to be heard,"
Sullivan
continued .
The leader of the
Green Group, Katrin Göring-Eckardt
,
agrees with this, as
she wrote on
: "The Kremlin clearly shows again how it deals with opposition members and wants to intimidate critics by all means."
Alexej #Nawalny and many of his supporters were arrested today in front of millions of people.
The Kremlin clearly shows again how it deals with opposition members and intends to intimidate critics with all means.
https://t.co/gCRxOj8oAP
- Katrin Göring-Eckardt Member of the Bundestag (@GoeringEckardt) January 17, 2021
You, the
European Union
, sharply condemned Moscow's steps.
The
EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell
called on the Russian authorities to
“respect
Navalny's
rights”, while
EU Council President Charles Michel
also called on Twitter on Sunday for the “immediate release” of the opposition.
Navalny returns to Moscow - and is immediately arrested
Update from January 17, 7:32 p.m.:
Five months after the Kremlin critic
Alexei Navalny was
poisoned, he is returning to Russia on Sunday evening.
The
AFP
According Nawalnys aircraft is now in
Moscow
landed - but not without incident.
The Russian opposition was supposed to
land
at
Vnukowo
airport
in southwest Moscow, where many of his supporters had already gathered without the authorization of the authorities.
Now the plane has apparently been rerouted at short notice - and finally landed at
Sheremetyevo Airport
in the northwest of the Russian capital.
After the government had previously announced that it would
arrest
the
opposition member
immediately after his arrival, this plan has now apparently been put into practice:
Navalny is to be
arrested and taken away
at the
passport control
at the airport
, reports
the Kremlin critic's
Telegram channel
.
Navalny
was
wanted
in Russia because he allegedly violated the probation requirements of an earlier criminal case while he was in Germany.
Update from January 17, 5:29 p.m.:
The prominent
Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny
is supposed to
land
at
Moscow's Vnukovo airport
around 8 p.m.
Many of his supporters are already waiting on site - some of them have now apparently been arrested.
According to the
AFP
, the
lawyer Lyubow
Sobol
, the
lawyer Alexej Molokojedow
and
Navalny
's assistant Ilya Pachomov
are among those arrested
.
Ivan Zhdanov
from Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation
had previously
reported
on
the arrests
on
- some of his pictures also show what was going
on at Moscow Airport
just before
Navalny's
return.
Это вообще что?
pic.twitter.com/b6N9FrITmG
- Ivan Zhdanov (@ioannZH) January 17, 2021
The
Kremlin
had already
warned the population and the opposition not to participate in an unauthorized “public event” at the airport.
Navalny,
on the other hand, had previously called on his supporters
to greet
him
on site
in
Moscow
, so that
over 2000 people announced
on
that they would take part.
Update from January 17, 1:19 p.m
.: Putin critic
Alexej Navalny
wants to return to Russia this Sunday
(see our first report from January 13)
- and hours beforehand the
police
were posted
at Moscow
's Vnukovo airport
.
According to the
AFP
, the
authorities warned
against participating in an unauthorized "public event" there.
Journalists
were denied access - because of the
corona pandemic
, it was said to justify.
Navalny called on his supporters to
"pick
him
up"
at the airport
.
According to
the
AFP
,
more than 2000 people announced
on
that they would come despite temperatures of minus 20 degrees.
But also some of his
opponents
: According to the report, a nationalist group announced
that it would receive
Navalny with
Seljonka
, a liquid used as an antiseptic in Russia.
An
attack
with Seljonka had already been carried out on Navalny.
Putin critic Navalny says goodbye to Germany on Instagram: "Thank you friends!"
On Saturday, Navalny thanked the doctors, police officers, politicians and other people he met during his five-month stay in
Germany
.
“
Thank you friends!” He
wrote in German on Instagram.
And further: He was surprised “how much the Germans do not
correspond to
the
stereotypical ideas
about them.
So that they don't laugh, don't make friends (...), but give orders and want to fulfill them.
It's not like that at all.
They really are the nicest people with an excellent
sense of humor
and they always try to help. "
In
Vnukovo
the 44-year-olds according to the Russian law enforcement agency threatens the
immediate arrest
, as he had repeatedly violated the conditions of the five-year suspended sentence.
Navalny accuses the Russian secret service of being behind his
poisoning
with a chemical warfare agent from the Novitschok group.
The Russian government denies any involvement in the attack.
Check out this post on Instagram
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Kremlin opponent Navalny leaves Germany and returns to Moscow - at considerable risk
Our first report from January 13th
: Moscow - The Kremlin opponent
Alexej Navalny *
wants to return to Moscow this Sunday after being poisoned.
He will land on January 17th with a plane operated by the Russian airline Pobeda, he announced in the short message service Twitter on Wednesday.
After the assassination attempt with the neurotoxin
Novitschok, he
has been in Germany to heal since August.
The
44-year-old wrote that the
question of
returning
has never arisen for him because he
never left
Russia
himself.
“I arrived in Germany in a resuscitation box,” he said, referring to his several weeks coma after the attack in Russia.
Navalny was recently in Germany for a rehabilitation measure.
He makes for the
poison attack *
Last August, a
“killer
squad
” of the FSB's domestic intelligence
agency under the orders of Kremlin chief
Vladimir Putin was
responsible for
a chemical warfare agent from the Novichok group
.
Russia denies involvement in the case and demands evidence of poisoning from Germany, for example.
Only then do you want to initiate an investigation.
Alexej Navalny: Return to Russia planned - authorities have recently increased pressure
Most recently, the Russian authorities increased the pressure on
Navalny
.
It was only on Tuesday that it became known that the prison authorities would like to bring the opposition activists to prison for allegedly not having fulfilled the probation requirement.
A corresponding application was made to a Moscow court.
Вопрос "возвращаться или нет" передо мной не стоял никогда.
Просто потому, что я не уезжал.
Я оказался в Германии, приехав в неё в реанимационной коробке.
17 января, в воскресенье, я вернусь домой рейсом "Победы".
Встречайте 😉https: //t.co/7J7ImemgvR
- Alexey Navalny (@navalny) January 13, 2021
Shortly before the turn of the year, the authority had asked Navalny in writing to meet the requirements of an earlier sentence and
to report in person to
the
Russian authorities
.
Otherwise there is a risk of imprisonment.
The case concerns a conviction from 2014.
Navalny *
wrote that the suspended sentence had already ended on December 30 of last year.
Alexei Navalny rejects allegations of alleged fraud
There are also investigations against the government critic for alleged
fraud
.
The Russian Investigation Committee accused him of having used donations equivalent to 3.9 million euros to his anti-corruption fund for “personal purposes” - for example to buy property and finance holidays.
Navalny refused.
The
Putin opponent
had always declared that he wanted to continue his work in Russia.
(dpa) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen digital network.