Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Detained Upon Return to Moscow - WSJ - 0 views
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Russian security forces detained opposition leader Alexei Navalny on his return to the country, heightening a confrontation between the Kremlin and its most vocal critic after he recovered in Germany from a near-fatal poisoning attack last summer.
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His followers, who had congregated at a different airport west of Moscow, were barred from entering the arrival area by dozens of security officials, many in riot gear, who swarmed the area.
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Russia’s federal prison service said in a statement that Mr. Navalny, who has been on the agency’s “wanted list” since Dec. 29, was detained for repeated violations of his probation. Further measures would be determined by a court, the agency said. Until then, Mr. Navalny would remain in custody, officials said.
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In the hours before his plane was diverted, riot police at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport tried to prevent his followers from entering the arrival zone, detaining members of the opposition activist’s inner circle including Lyubov Sobol, a lawyer and one of Mr. Navalny’s closest allies.
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Mr. Navalny nearly died after falling ill aboard a flight to Moscow after meeting with supporters in Siberia. Doctors who treated him in Berlin said he had been poisoned by Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent.
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Mr. Navalny blames Russian President Vladimir Putin for the attempt on his life in August. Western intelligence officials and scientists who helped develop the Novichok nerve agent say it is accessible only through military and security circles.
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In December, Russian prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into him for allegedly siphoning donations to his Anti-Corruption Foundation.
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Friends and aides have said that his remaining in exile would have delegitimized him as a politician and added fuel to his critics’ charges that he is a puppet of the West and that U.S. intelligence agents are supporting him, as Mr. Putin has alleged.
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“Navalny’s decision to return raises the stakes for the Kremlin because he has activists, not just in Moscow, but in the regions where the Kremlin is counting on support, who are not ready to just sit passively by as their leader is arrested,” said Nikolai Petrov, an independent political analyst based in London.