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Julia Navalnaya, wife of Alexej Navalny, on the way to a hearing of her husband in Moscow (archive photo)
Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / dpa
The wife of the imprisoned Russian opposition politician Alexej Navalny flew to Germany.
The Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing an unspecified informant.
According to SPIEGEL information, Julia Navalnaja will land in Frankfurt am Main in the evening.
The Putin critic Navalny came to Germany with his wife after his poisoning last summer, she was with him during the months of his recovery.
They both returned to Moscow in January.
There Navalny was arrested at the airport and his wife was allowed to enter the country without any problems.
Meanwhile, Navalny has been sentenced to several years in prison.
Since Navalny's arrest, protests by his supporters have increased in Russia, demonstrating for his release and against President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian police responded with massive arrests, with more than 11,000 people arrested in January alone.
Now the sanctions for participating in unauthorized protests and their funding have been increased significantly.
Anyone who does not follow the instructions of members of the Russian security forces in the future, for example, must expect fines between 10,000 and 200,000 rubles (112 euros to 2234 euros), according to the law passed on Wednesday.
In addition to the previous arrest sentences, 40 to 120 hours of compulsory work can be imposed in the future.
Because Navalny's team recently called on the US and the EU to impose sanctions on Putin's power apparatus, the parliament controlled by the Kremlin Party, United Russia, is now discussing a law that classifies such demands as a criminal offense of "treason".
In addition to the large number of MPs, the sanctioned billionaire Oleg Deripaska welcomed such a law.
The Kremlin said that there was a desire in society for such an approach.
Media close to the Kremlin repeatedly describe Putin's critics as enemies of the Russian people.
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mrc / mgb / Reuters