VLAD ENOUGH
Poisoned Putin critic Alexei Navalny jailed for 30 days as he accuses Kremlin of ‘highest level of lawlessness’
PUTIN critic Alexei Navalny has been jailed for 30 days as he accused the Kremlin of the "highest level of lawlessness".
Navalny, 44, a prominent opposition figure within Russia, was detained yesterday as he exited a plane to return to the country just five months after his attempted assassination.
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Navalny fell ill while on an internal flight in Russia in August, and after being transferred to Germany was found to have been exposed to Novichok, a chemical nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
He has accused the Russian government of trying to have him killed, although the Kremlin has denied any involvement.
At a court hearing today, a judge jailed Navalny until February 15 for violating his parole.
The sentence came from a 2014 conviction for embezzlement that the 44-year-old says was politically motivated.
And he will have another hearing on January 29 to determine whether his suspended term of three and a half years on parole should be replaced with a prison sentence.
Today, he accused Putin's government of making a "mockery of justice" and of the "highest level of lawlessness."
A hearing was held in a makeshift court at a police station in Khimki, near Moscow.
In footage posted to his Twitter account by a spokesperson, Navalny is seen telling the court: "I don't understand what's going on.
"A minute ago, I was brought from cell here to meet my lawyers.
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"I came here and here is the Khimki court session taking place. Some strangers are filming me on camera.
"Why the court session is taking place in police station I cannot understand. Why was no one was informed?
"I have seen a lot of jokes about judicial system here. It's not possible what is happening here. It's the highest level of lawlessness. I cannot call it any other word."
Pictures also showed Navalny's lawyers, who say they have not been granted access to him, speaking to an officer through a gate outside the station.
'APPALLING' ARREST
Navalny had been due to touch down and meet supporters at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, but before the plane's arrival authorities closed the airport and diverted the flight to Sheremetyevo.
Officers were then waiting to arrest him as he disembarked the flight.
The move has sparked condemnation from the international community as well as human rights campaign groups.
Writing on Twitter, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: "It is appalling that Alexey Navalny, the victim of a despicable crime, has been detained by Russian authorities. He must be immediately released.
"Rather than persecuting Mr Navalny, Russia should explain how a chemical weapon came to be used on Russian soil."
Jake Sullivan, who is to serve as a national security advisor in the Biden administration, said the "attacks on Mr Navalny are not just a violation of human rights, but an affront to the Russian people who want their voices heard".
The government of Germany, France, and Italy as well as the president of the European Commission also called for Navalny's release.
Amnesty International declared Navalny a prisoner of conscience and called for his "immediate and unconditional" release.
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said he was "deeply troubled" by Mr Navalny's arrest, while adding a veiled criticism of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
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Tom Tugendhat, the foreign affairs select committee chairman, said Russia's justification of Mr Navalny's arrest was "designed to deceive."
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The Tory MP said: "Navalny missed probation hearings because he was recovering after the same Putin officials who ordered his arrest tried to murder him.
"If he gets beaten up and there are marks on the weapons, they'll charge him with damaging Government property.
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