The Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny will soon return to Russia after recovering from alleged poisoning. But the bad news is that the country’s prison service has been commanded to take him into custody on his return.
After an assassination attempt conducted by the Russian spy agency, FSB, he was ordered to appear for parole reviews, however, he did not, and hence, he will have to spend some time in jail.
Navalny was recovering from poison-induced infection in a hospital in Siberia but he was later moved to Germany for further treatment. In Germany, Navalny was a part of an investigation conducted by Bellingcat. The hit squad followed him in more than 30 locations.
One of the officers involved also confessed to the crime.
The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin also spoke on the matter when the investigation report was published, criticizing the report for containing false information, while claiming that Navalny had been in cahoots with western intelligence agencies.
The Russian government agencies have been coercing him to remain in exile, threatening to re-open the criminal case related to a previous probation – 6 years ago.
Navalny has announced that he will return to Russia, and has urged his supporters to welcome him at the airport, which likely means there will be a protest if law enforcement attempts to detain him.
According to press reports, prison officials have been ordered to take him into custody until the court decides on the replacement of his sentence that was suspended. As reported by Russian officials, he failed to appear for parole hearings when he was sentenced for money laundering and embezzlement in 2014.
Even though his probation had concluded at the end of December, the officials have criticized that he went against the parole terms when he did not show up after he had recovered at the hospital in Berlin.
Navalny had been released from the Berlin Charite hospital in September; however, he has continued to live in Germany until now.
The government of Russia has also refused to investigate his poisoning claims on the grounds of non-substantial evidence provided against the crime.
