Russia: arrest warrant targeting Lioubov Sobol, a close friend of Navalny

A relative of the imprisoned opponent Alexeï Navalny, Lioubov Sobol, has been placed in Russia on the list of people wanted by Russia, another example of the repression that has struck the Russian opposition for months.

Read alsoRussia: the Kremlin intensifies its offensive to silence dissenting voices

In a notice published Wednesday evening October 20 on its website, the Russian Interior Ministry indicates that Lioubov Sobol, 34, is wanted in the context of a "

", without further details on the facts. are reproached to him. A rising figure in the Russian opposition, Lioubov Sobol, a lawyer by training, had participated in recent years in numerous actions and demonstrations by Alexeï Navalny, himself imprisoned in Russia since January.

Russian authorities have increased pressure on its allies and organizations, which in June were declared "

" and banned.

None of its members was therefore able to stand for the legislative elections in September, won by Vladimir Putin's party.

At the same time, many cadres of Alexei Navalny's movement have left the country for fear of being imprisoned.

Lioubov Sobol is apparently part of Russia.

Two other lieutenants of Alexey Navalny, Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov, are also on the wanted list and are being prosecuted in cases carrying a heavy sentence.

Read alsoThe opponent Navalny still pugnacious despite the prison

Victim in August 2020 of a poisoning that he attributes to the Kremlin, Alexeï Navalny was arrested upon his return to Russia after five months of convalescence in Germany.

His imprisonment sparked outrage in the West.

On Wednesday, the European Parliament presented him with the prestigious Sakharov Prize for the defense of freedom of thought.