Brussels (AP) – After the arrest of the Russian opposition politician Alexej Navalny, EU Council leader Charles Michel is calling for the Kremlin critic to be released immediately. The arrest of the 44-year-old immediately after his arrival in Moscow was unacceptable, wrote Michel on Twitter on Sunday. “I call on the Russian authorities to release him immediately.” Josep Borrell, the EU foreign affairs representative, joined him. He wrote on Twitter that political instrumentalization of the judiciary was not acceptable.
Navalny was arrested as soon as he landed. The 44-year-old was advertised for a search, said the prison system as a justification. He remains in custody until the court has decided. During his stay in Germany, where he was recovering from the attack with the neurotoxin Novichok, the Kremlin critic is said to have violated probation conditions in a previous criminal case.
Navalny’s team speaks of a political staging to muzzle the prominent opponent of President Vladimir Putin. The trial is scheduled for January 29th.
Navalny had recovered in Germany from an attack with the neurotoxin Novitschok, which was banned as a chemical weapon. The attack was carried out on August 20 in the Siberian city of Tomsk. Navalny blames Putin and the domestic secret service FSB for the murder. Putin rejects that. Regardless of the danger to his life, Navalny stated several times that his place was in Russia and that he wanted to continue his fight against the “Putin system” there.
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