After the verdict against Kremlin critic Navalny: The German government is open to new punitive measures against Russia.
A Putin spokesman defends the use against protests.
Since the Russian opposition politician Alexej Navalny * returned to Russia, he has been in prison.
International demands for his release ricochet off Putin.
While Germany is thinking of sanctions, the pressure on its Nord Stream 2 pipeline project is growing.
Moscow - Almost three years in prison: That was the verdict at the end of a trial against Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny on Tuesday in Moscow.
There is also international outrage, thousands of supporters arrested and uncertainty about the consequences for Russian domestic politics.
After the judge’s ruling, the federal government considers further EU sanctions against Russia to be conceivable.
"The next steps will have to be discussed among the European partners, further sanctions are not excluded," said government spokesman Steffen Seibert on Wednesday.
He reiterated the demand that Navalny be released immediately.
The sentencing of Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin's most important adversary * to almost three years in a prison camp was "far removed from the rule of law," said Seibert.
The decision is based on a judgment that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) classified as arbitrary in 2017.
As a member of the Council of Europe, Russia is obliged to implement the decisions of the ECHR.
A Moscow court ruled on Tuesday that Navalny now has to serve a suspended sentence in a penal colony.
A previous house arrest was deducted from the three and a half year suspended sentence.
According to Navalny's lawyer Olga Mikhailova, this amounts to "approximately" two years and eight months in prison.
The verdict caused international outrage.
Alexej Navalny: Further sanctions against Russia in discussion
But there were already sanctions: Because of the poison attack on Navalny in August *, the EU had already implemented measures against Putin's close associates in October, including the vice-head of the presidential administration and the head of the FSB's domestic intelligence service.
In return, Russia imposed two-step sanctions against Germany, France, Sweden and the UK in December.
Navalny had returned to Russia after his recovery in Germany and was arrested directly at passport control at the airport.
Since then, more than 11,000 demonstrators have been arrested in Russia, according to a non-governmental organization.
Many of them were detained for hours "under terrible conditions," a representative of the organization OWD-Info told the radio station Moscow Echo on Wednesday.
They would have had to endure without food and no way to use a toilet.
OWD-Info lawyers were partially denied access to the arrested demonstrators.
+
A journalist watches a live stream of a trial with the Russian opposition leader Navalny on a screen while Russian Rosguardia soldiers stand guard in front of the court.
© Pavel Golovkin / dpa
Government spokesman Seibert also criticized the actions of the Russian security forces in the nationwide protests.
The federal government condemns the "systematic use of force against demonstrators".
It is about "outrageous examples of police violence".
Detention for Navalny in the penal camp: Merkel's federal government continues to stick to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project
To give the words more emphasis, calls that have long been circulating are getting louder to stop the German-Russian pipeline project Nord Stream 2 *.
But the federal government is sticking to it: The government's attitude is known and has not changed, said Seibert.
France's Secretary of State for Europe, Clément Beaune, called for a construction freeze on Nord Stream 2 on Monday because of the Russian action against Navalny and his supporters.
The French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, on the other hand, said on radio station Europe 1: “One must not confuse the issues.
We are discussing Nord Stream with the Germans, but this mainly concerns questions of European energy sovereignty. "
The US and EU countries such as Poland had previously expressed concern that Europe was too dependent on Russian gas.
After Navalny's arrest in Russia, the European Parliament demanded a construction freeze.
Protests by Navalny supporters: Russia is concerned about the scale
Meanwhile, the controversial detention of the Moscow opposition leader Alexei Navalny according to the Kremlin has no major impact on the political situation in Russia.
"The country is preparing for the parliamentary elections, which will take place in September," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday, according to the Interfax agency.
"This is a multi-faceted process, so one cannot speak of a significant influence," said Peskow, referring to the detention in the penal camp against Navalny.
Peskow also defended the mission against the unauthorized protests.
The Kremlin is concerned about the scale.
"It's an activity that should undoubtedly be fought quite hard," said Peskow.
He called the demonstrators "provocateurs".
President Vladimir Putin * compared them to “terrorists”.
Experts see Russia's actions as a symptom of a new political course in the Kremlin, as can be read on Merkur.de *.
"Now we have to adjust to things that we could not have expected before Putin's regime," said an expert after the opposition member was poisoned.
(AFP / dpa / cibo) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.
List of rubric lists: © Pavel Golovkin / dpa
