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Russia Threatens Poisoned Opposition Leader Navalny With Prison

Charles Maynes

   MOSCOW - Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny says authorities in
   Moscow have formally asked a Russian court to jail him for violating
   terms of his parole dating back to a 2015 suspended sentence -- the
   latest twist in a lengthy political drama between the opposition figure
   and the Kremlin.
   Navalny made the announcement from Germany, where he has spent the past
   four months recovering from an August poison attack carried out while
   traveling in Siberia.
   Navalny argues the attack was carried out by Russia's Federal Security
   Services on the orders of President Vladimir Putin -- a charge he made
   again regarding the court request.
   "Putin is so furious I survived the poisoning that he forced the
   Federal Penitentiary Service to go to court and demand changing my
   suspended sentences into a real one," Navalny [1]tweeted.
   Court documents [2]published online confirmed the move.
   Last minute parole hearing
   Tuesday's news didn't come entirely by surprise.
   Last month, Russia's prison service ordered Navalny to attend a parole
   hearing or risk jail for failing to return before the terms of his
   suspended sentence expired.
   Prison authorities justified the move by citing [3]an article in the
   British medical journal Lancet that claimed Navalny had effectively
   recovered from a strain of the military nerve agent Novichok back in
   October -- giving him more than enough time to appear before his parole
   officer in Moscow.
   "In this way, the convict serving a suspended sentence has not met the
   court ordered requirements put upon him" read the announcement.
   The legal maneuvering appeared aimed at discouraging Navalny from
   returning to Russia to resume his political activities -- which he has
   insisted he will do once fully recovered.

References

   1. https://twitter.com/navalny/status/1348965288109350917
   2. https://mos-gorsud.ru/rs/simonovskij/services/cases/criminal-materials/details/50be1900-54c8-11eb-a38f-d95746f01188
   3. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32644-1/fulltext

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