19-01-21, 13:13
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re: PUTINs' POISONED ENEMY Jail Term Extended by 19ys-TRUMP Defended PUTIN
POISONED Kremlin Critic Alexei Navalny Arrested on Return to Russia
Russia's leading opposition figure has been arrested and detained for 30 days, after returning to Moscow for the first time since he was poisoned last year.
Alexei Navalny: Poisoned Putin critic Navalny to be kept in custody
BBC News, 19 JAN 2021.
Mr Navalny (centre) was later seen led away by officers from the police station
Dozens of people gathered outside the Khimki police station in freezing weather, demanding for Mr Navalny to be released
Alexei Navalny said a court ruling held inside a police station was a mockery and called for street protests.
Dozens of his supporters gathered outside the Moscow police station where he was being held and shouted "disgrace" and "Putin resign".
Mr Navalny was held soon after his flight from Germany arrived on Sunday.
Russian prosecutors say he violated the parole terms of a suspended sentence for embezzlement. He says the charges are politically motivated.
Last August, Mr Navalny, 44, was almost killed in a nerve agent attack, which he blamed personally on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin denies involvement. The opposition politician's allegations have, however, been backed up by reports from investigative journalists.
On Sunday, big crowds gathered at Moscow's Vnukovo airport to greet Mr Navalny's flight from Berlin - but in a last-minute decision the authorities re-routed the plane to another airport in the capital.
A makeshift courtroom was organised on Monday at a police station in Khimki, on the outskirts of Moscow, where Mr Navalny had spent the night.
The judge ordered Mr Navalny's detention until 15 February for violating his parole. He will have another hearing on 29 January to determine whether his suspended sentence of three-and-a-half years should be replaced with a jail term.
Mr Navalny said his treatment was beyond a "mockery of justice" and described the hearing as "lawlessness of the highest grade".
"Don't be afraid. Take to the streets, not for me, but for yourselves, for your future," he said in a video address (in Russian) from the police station.
A crowd of about 200 Navalny supporters gathered outside the police station in freezing weather, demanding his immediate release.
Mr Navalny was later seen led away by police to one of Moscow's prisons.
His lawyer, Vadim Kobzev, said they would appeal against the "illegal" court decision, according to Russia's Interfax news agency.
Meanwhile, more than 70 Navalny supporters and journalists were detained across Russia on Monday, according to the Monitoring group OVD-Info.
How Did Events Unfold on Sunday?
As Mr Navalny gradually recovered after emergency medical treatment in Germany, he said he intended to return to Russia.
On Sunday, he made good on that pledge, boarding a flight despite warnings he would face arrest on landing.
Alexei Navalny travelled to Moscow with his wife Yulia
The plane was packed with journalists, including from the BBC. Shortly before landing, the pilot announced that for "technical reasons", the plane was being diverted from Vnukovo airport, where thousands of Navalny supporters had gathered, to Sheremetyevo airport, causing a stir among the passengers.
A number of people were detained by riot police.
Alexei Navalny - The Basics
Mr Navalny is an anti-corruption campaigner and the most prominent face of Russian opposition to President Vladimir Putin
He attempted to stand in the 2018 presidential race, but was barred because of an embezzlement conviction that he says was politically motivated
An outspoken blogger, he has millions of Russian followers on social media and managed to get some supporters elected to local councils in Siberia in 2020
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