In a court hearing, scheduled at short notice, a decision is to be made on the severely criticized imprisonment of Alexej Navalny.
In the run-up, there are raids in the vicinity of Putin's opponent.
In Russia, people across the country are protesting against the
imprisonment of the Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny
(see first report)
.
Vladimir Putin's
spokesman tried to downplay the protests - a police officer was dismissed after public support for Navalny (
update from January 24, 4:15 p.m.
).
Germany's Foreign Minister
Maas
urges freedom of expression and the release of the detainees
(see update from January 25, 10:53 a.m.)
.
This
news ticker
is updated regularly.
Update from January 28, 8:48 a.m
.: The
brother
of Putin critic
Alexej Navalny
has been arrested - during
raids
against his relatives and employees.
Oleg Navalny
was initially in custody for 48 hours, tweeted Navalny employee
Ivan Zhdanov
late on Wednesday evening.
According to
the
AFP
,
the Navalny team wrote
on
Telegram
that the reason was a violation of corona hygiene requirements
.
Two other members of the Kremlin opposition officials were arrested.
Masked uniformed men
had searched offices and private apartments since the afternoon.
Nawalny's brother had already been sentenced to a long
prison term
years ago
.
Navalny accused the state of having taken Oleg
hostage
in order to put him under pressure himself.
The most recent wave of searches came the day before a court
wanted to rule on Alexei Navalny's
30-day prison sentence
.
Navalny's lawyers want to get the 44-year-old released in the Khimki City Court near Moscow on Thursday.
Navalny's imprisonment had
sparked
international
outrage.
According to the organizers, up to
300,000 people
demonstrated in Russia last weekend
for his release.
The protests are supposed to continue this Sunday.
+
Alexei Navalny, opposition politician and Kremlin critic, is escorted by a police officer.
© Sergei Bobylev / TASS / dpa / archive
Navalny: Kremlin with a curious explanation for a grand residence - but one question remains open
Update from January 26th, 5:52 p.m.:
In the case of the Russian critic
Alexej Navalny
,
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) has
again called for the
release of
the Kremlin opponent.
This also applies to Nawalny's supporters, who are also arrested.
"Pictures like the ones that have reached us from numerous Russian cities are
in stark contrast to the
commitments that members of the Council of Europe have made,
" said Maas on
about the demonstrations for the release of Navalny and his supporters.
"We demand from Russia the immediate release of the arrested demonstrators and Alexei Navalny."
At the same time, the German Foreign Minister advocated a
dialogue
with
Russia
at the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Tuesday
.
"In my opinion, demolishing bridges is always the worst option," said Maas.
Navalny: Kremlin with a strange explanation for a grand residence
Update from January 26th, 4:13 p.m.:
One week after
Alexei
Navalny
published a highly regarded video, the Kremlin
responded to the allegations it contained.
The video showed a large estate in which Navalny claimed it belonged to Russian President
Vladimir Putin
.
The Kremlin has now declared entrepreneurs to the owners: "The Kremlin has no right to reveal the names of these owners, and we do not intend to do that, that is simply not correct," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the
Interfax agency
on Tuesday
according to.
The video had more than 90 million views.
Putin
had already denied on Monday that the palace belonged to him or his closest relatives (
see update from January 25, 3 p.m.
).
According to the film, the property with the palace on the Black Sea is almost 40 times the size of Monaco and is said to have devoured more than 100 billion rubles (around 1.1 billion euros).
Kremlin spokesman Peskov did not answer questions from journalists as to why the huge area is under the protection of the domestic secret service FSB and the state guard and security service FSO.
Regardless of the great response to the unveiling video, no one has yet confessed to the palace.
Navalny described
the palace as the greatest
corruption scandal
in Russian history and a state within a state.
Alexej Navalny: Putin attests to "brainwashing" after disclosure
Update from January 25, 3 p.m.:
The supporters of the detained
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny are
calling for further
demonstrations
.
As the Navalny confidante Leonid Volkov announced today on Twitter, further nationwide protests are planned for Sunday: “All cities in Russia.
For Nawalny's release.
For everyone's freedom.
For justice ”.
As the AFP reports,
President Vladimir Putin
rejects
Navalny's allegations that he should own a luxury palace on the Black Sea coast.
"None of what is listed here as my property belongs to me or my close relatives, and it never has," the Russian president told students in a video conference.
According to a report by
Spiegel
, Putin also called the clip a "result of brainwashing" and "boring".
+
Police block a street in Moscow during a protest against the detention of opposition leader Navalny.
© Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr / AP / dpa
In the context of the protests against the imprisonment of Nawalny, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project is also in the focus of German politics.
SPD parliamentary group vice-president
Achim Post
has warned against mixing up the debates about Russia's action against Alexej Navalny and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Post warned that Nord Stream 2 is needed as an “alternative to dirty fracking gas from the USA”, as reported by the dpa.
Annalena Baerbock, head of the Greens
in the ARD capital
studio,
speaks out against continuing the project
: “This pipeline counteracts the geostrategic interests of the Europeans, is specifically directed against Ukraine, it is a bet against the European climate targets, counteracts all EU sanctions towards Russia and is therefore an absolutely
fatal project
.
Meanwhile, the EU does not want to decide until February whether to impose further sanctions on Russia for the arrest of Navalny.
The
AFP learned on Monday from diplomats at the meeting of the EU foreign ministers in Brussels
what a
visit by the EU
foreign affairs representative
Josep Borrell's
planned for early February
to Moscow
would bring
.
Borrell should deliver “a clear message” to the Kremlin. According to the information, the
Baltic states
and
Poland
pleaded
for immediate punitive measures
at the meeting of EU foreign ministers
.
Other countries wanted to wait and see for the time being.
Possible sanctions must be decided unanimously by the 27 member states.
Navalny protests: Maas makes demands on Putin - but the EU could hesitate further
Update from January 25, 10:49 a.m.:
More than 3500 arrests in over 100 Russian cities: That is the balance sheet that civil rights activists
draw
after the
demonstrations in Russia
on Saturday.
People are protesting for the release of the imprisoned opposition leader
Alexei Navalny
.
In Moscow and St. Petersburg, uniformed men beat and kicked demonstrators.
Federal Foreign Minister
Heiko Maas has
now called for the immediate release of the supporters of the Kremlin critic arrested at the weekend.
"Even according to the Russian constitution, everyone in Russia has the right to express their opinion and to demonstrate," said the SPD politician on Monday during consultations with EU colleagues in Brussels.
The country has committed itself to adhering to the rule of law.
Therefore, it is expected that those who protested peacefully would be released immediately.
Maas initially said nothing about
possible
reactions by the EU
to the actions of the Russian authorities against Navalny and his supporters.
Eastern Member States such as Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are particularly promoting a quick and clear reaction against Russia.
Others, however, are more cautious and want to wait and see whether Navalny will be held longer.
A final decision on
new sanctions
is therefore not expected this Monday.
The next trial against Navalny is scheduled for February 2nd.
After the mass protests,
human rights activists
also criticized
the sometimes brutal actions of the Russian security forces.
"Again and again, Russian authorities suppress freedom of expression and peaceful protest through police brutality, violence and mass arrests," said a statement from Human Rights Watch on Monday.
"January 23rd was no exception."
Alexei Navalny: Kremlin spokesman tried to downplay the protests
Update from January 24th, 4:15 p.m.:
One day after the
mass protests of supporters of the Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny
across
Russia
, the
Kremlin
spoke of a few people on the streets.
"Now many will say that many people went to the unauthorized actions," Kremlin spokesman
Dmitry Peskov
told
Russian state television.
“No, few people went.
Many people vote for Putin, ”said Peskov on the program“ Moscow.Kreml.Putin ”, which was to be broadcast on Sunday evening.
Peskow also criticized the
US embassy in Moscow
, which had published a list of demo meeting places and times in the run-up to the protests.
President Vladimir Putin's
spokesman said that this was "a direct support for the violation of the law
."
+
Police officer Ruslan Agibalov showed solidarity with Alexej Navalny in an internet video.
© Screenshot: Youtube.com/ Непокорный арестант
Meanwhile, a
Russian police officer has
been fired after showing solidarity with Navalny in an Internet video.
Ruslan Agibalow from the city of
Kursk
around 450 kilometers south of the capital Moscow had published the clip “in support of Alexej Navalny and all political prisoners” on the weekend before the major nationwide Navalny protests.
He was afraid that his children would at some point ask him: "Dad, what have you done to ensure that we can live in a free, prosperous country?", Says Agibalow, among other things.
"And then I have no answer." The policeman asked that his words not be understood as a call for protests by Navalny supporters.
Nevertheless, he was released a little later, as the Kursk department of the
Interior Ministry announced
.
The police officer had soiled the honor of his authority, it was said as a reason.
Update from January 24th, 12:45 p.m.:
Prominent Russian cultural workers, including musicians, authors and actors,
showed
solidarity
with the
detained Kremlin opponent Alexej Navalny
and called for protests
in a video
.
The writer
Dmitri Gluchowski
(Dmitry Glukhovsky),
also known in Germany
, said that there are moments in life when silence is out of place.
The musicians from
Noize MC, Anacondaz
and the internationally known director
Witali Manski also
called in the clip “Freedom for Alexej Navalny!” To not watch indifferently when people are politically persecuted and imprisoned for no reason.
Video in social networks causes horror: Protests in Russia against Navalny imprisonment
Update from January 24, 10:50 a.m.:
A video on social networks
that showed
a woman brutally kicking a police officer in St. Petersburg caused horror.
According to media reports, the 54-year-old suffered a traumatic brain injury.
She is in the hospital and is unconscious.
Investigators announced they are looking into the case.
Navalny protests in Russia: Thousands of supporters on the streets - Navalny's wife free again
Update from January 24th, 8.55 a.m.:
More than 3,400 people have been arrested during nationwide protests by
supporters of the Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny in Russia
.
Tens of thousands of people followed the opposition's call to protest on Saturday, protested against
President Vladimir Putin
and demanded
Navalny's release
.
Riot police used force against the demonstrators in Moscow and other major cities.
The EU and the USA sharply criticized the tough approach taken by the security authorities.
According to estimates by
AFP
journalists, the
largest rallies took place
in Moscow and St. Petersburg, each with around 20,000 participants.
The police in Moscow spoke of 4,000 demonstrators, according to which around 40 police officers were slightly injured.
Nawalny's supporters also took to the streets
in around a hundred other cities
.
There were also larger demonstrations and violent arrests in Vladivostok and Khabarovsk in the Far East.
Participants in the rally shouted "Putin - thief!", "Navalny - we are with you!" And "Freedom for the political prisoners!"
Alexej Navalny: Tens of thousands demonstrate nationwide for the release of the Krem critic
Update from January 23, 5:35 p.m.:
Julia Navalnaja
, the wife of the imprisoned
Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny
, was released by the Moscow police on Saturday afternoon.
This is confirmed by media reports and sources
close to the
Navalny
family
.
Navalnaya
was
taken into
police
custody
on Saturday
as she took part in a demonstration demanding the release of her husband.
All over
Russia
tens of thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate against the arrest of Navalny and the policies of Russian President
Vladimir Putin
.
There were also violent clashes between
demonstrators
and the
police
.
The
human rights organization
OWD spoke of at least 2,131
arrests across the
country
on Saturday evening
.
However, the police operations would continue.
Alexei Navalny,
who
barely survived
an attack with the
neurotoxin Novitschok
last year, returned to
Russia
at the beginning of January after being treated in Germany
.
The 44-year-old was arrested at the airport when he arrived and has been in police custody ever since.
Update January 23, 14:15:
Even
Alexei Nawalnys mother
should be involved in the protest action in Russia.
The Kremlin critic's team posted
a photo of her
shortly before
Julia Navalnaya was
arrested
.
Navalny faces several criminal trials and many years in prison.
The civil rights movement OWD now counts more than 1,000 arrests nationwide during the protests.
These are also targeted against
Vladimir Putin
after the Navalny team recently published an unveiling video that is supposed to prove that Putin had a “tsarist empire” built on the Black Sea from bribes.
Alexei Navalny's wife: Julia Navalnaya arrested in Moscow - mail from prisoner's car
Update from January 23, 1:50 p.m.:
Alexej Navalny's wife
Julia Navalnaya
was arrested during the protests for the release of the Kremlin critic.
"Please excuse the poor image quality," she wrote on Saturday in response to an Instagram post she published.
The lighting conditions are very bad.
The photo shows her in a prisoner transport.
Update from January 23, 1:20 p.m.:
The Russia-wide protests for the release of the detained
Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny
have reached the capital Moscow.
Police arrested several demonstrators on Saturday afternoon, as a reporter from the
German press agency
reported on site.
Also
Nawalnys closest colleague, the lawyer Lyubov Sobol
, was arrested.
Among the thousands of protesters were many young people and middle-class people.
In contrast to unauthorized rallies in the past, the central Pushkin Square was not cordoned off in large areas.
Activists complained about the internet being throttled.
“Putin is a thief,”
shouted the people in Moscow - as they did in many other cities in the country, where the protests took place several hours earlier than in the capital due to the time difference.
Nationwide, the civil rights organization OWD counted 369 arrests by the afternoon.
But there were also reports from security forces who did not intervene, but let the people march.
The Russian authorities are threatening heavy fines for participating in the unauthorized rallies on Saturday.
Numerous supporters of the opposition politician had already been arrested in the past few days.
Protests in Russia: People demonstrate against the imprisonment of Alexei Navalny
+
Thousands of people demonstrate in the Russian metropolis of St. Petersburg against the arrest of Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny.
© Dmitri Lovetsky / AP / dpa
First report from January 23, 11 a.m .:
Moscow - When the Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny returned to Russia after a month-long stay, he was immediately arrested.
Now he is to serve a 30-day prison sentence after a controversial urgent procedure.
But resistance is forming against it.
Inside and outside the country.
Russia has
refused to
interfere from abroad over
the protests for the
release of the imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny *
.
The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the US embassy in Moscow in a message, which had listed several demonstrations planned for Saturday with exact meeting points and times.
Under the guise of concerns about the safety of US citizens abroad, Washington wants to fuel the protests in Russia, criticized Moscow.
Navalny's supporters
called for protests in more than 90 Russian cities this Saturday.
They are demanding the release of Putin's opponent, who was sentenced to 30 days in prison on Monday in a controversial urgent procedure.
He is said to have violated reporting requirements in previous criminal proceedings while he was recovering from a poison attack in Germany.
Navalny and his team see the judiciary's actions as politically motivated.
Navalny protests in Russia: Kremlin critics sentenced to imprisonment - already 125 arrests in counter-demos
By Saturday lunchtime Moscow time, the
civil rights organization OWD had already
counted
125 arrests
in cities where the protests had been scheduled several hours earlier than in the capital due to the time difference.
In many places, however, the police did not intervene, as can be seen on videos on social networks.
In the Siberian city of Tomsk, where Navalny was the
victim of an attack with the neurotoxin Novichok
in August
, people are said to have gathered for the largest unauthorized demonstration in years.
Navalny makes
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin *
and the FSB for the assassination responsible.
Putin and the FSB reject that.
Navalny's supporters spoke of thousands of demonstrators in Khabarovsk, Irkutsk and Novosibirsk.
The crowd chanted "We have the power" and "Putin is a thief".
At the beginning of the week, Nawalny's team published a highly acclaimed unveiling video entitled “A Palace for Putin”, which is supposed to prove that the president had a “tsarist empire” built on the Black Sea from bribes.
The
Kremlin describes the allegations as a "lie"
.
The authorities are threatening heavy penalties for participating in the unauthorized rallies.
Numerous supporters of the opposition politician had already been arrested in the past few days.
(dpa / afp)
List of rubric lists: © Sergei Bobylev / TASS / dpa / archive
