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Navalny Associates Under Pressure Ahead Of Weekend Protests
By RFE/RL January 29, 2021
Russian authorities have continued to ramp up pressure on associates of jailed Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny ahead of a second weekend of nationwide demonstrations that the Kremlin has called illegal.
On January 29, the Tverskoi district court in Moscow placed Oleg Navalny, Aleksei's brother; Lyubov Sobol, a lawyer for Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK); Oleg Stepanov, the coordinator of Navalny's Moscow headquarters; a member of the Pussy Riot protest group, Maria Alyokhina; and the head of the Alliance of Doctors trade union, Anastasia Vaislyeva, under house arrest until March 23, on charges of violating restrictions in place due to the coronavirus outbreak by calling for mass protests on January 23.
All were detained and charged with violation of sanitary and epidemiological regulations on January 27.
Meanwhile, the Investigative Committee announced on January 29 that it had charged in absentia Navalny's close associate, Leonid Volkov, with calling on teenagers to take part in the "unlawful" rallies organized by Navalny supporters.
Navalny and his associates are planning nationwide protests on January 31, following demonstrations in dozens of cities last weekend that brought out hundreds of thousands of people despite a brutal police crackdown. Police detained almost 4,000 people in the demonstrations.
In a letter posted on his website on January 28 after a court rejected an appeal against his detainment until February 15, Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most outspoken critic, called on Russians to cast aside fear and stage fresh protests.
"Putin is afraid of competition, so in the summer he tried to kill his main political rival, and now he wants to put him in jail. Putin is afraid of Navalny, because his ideas are aimed at improving the lives of Russians and fighting corruption," the letter said.
Navalny was arrested on January 17 upon returning to Russia from Germany, where he had been recovering from a near-fatal poisoning by a military-grade nerve agent in August he accuses President Vladimir Putin of ordering, a claim the Kremlin denies.
A Russian court on January 28 confirmed his 30-day pretrial sentence, rejecting an appeal by the dissident's lawyers to set him free.
A trial on February 2 will determine whether an earlier suspended sentence will be converted into 3 1/2 years in prison in relation to an embezzlement case that is widely considered trumped up and politically motivated.
Prosecutors are alleging he violated the terms of his probation while receiving treatment in Germany.
Navalny, who took part in the hearing via a video link, called his arrest a sign of the "lawlessness" that has become commonplace in Russia "with the goal to frighten me and everyone else."
Ahead of this weekend's planned protests, several of Navalny's allies and supporters were detained in raids while police warned they will crack down on any unsanctioned public events.
Meanwhile, a two-hour film made by Navalny alleging President Vladimir Putin owns an opulent $1.36 billion palace on the Black Sea has been viewed more than 100 million times, further stirring public anger.
Navalny's team released the bombshell video last week in which he leveled his allegations about the palace.
Putin has said the property does not belong to him.
Copyright (c) 2021. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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