‘Hundreds arrested’ in pro-Navalny protests across Russia
Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, faces a court hearing on Tuesday that could see him jailed for years.
The Kremlin critic was arrested last month after returning from Berlin where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin – an accusation the Russian authorities deny.
Justice officials allege that Mr Navalny violated the probation conditions of his suspended sentence from a 2014 money-laundering conviction, and have requested a court in Moscow turn his three-and-a-half year suspended sentence into one that he must serve in prison.
‘Why are you deceiving the court?’
The BBC’s Moscow correspondent, Steve Rosenberg, reports that Alexei Navalny has accused court officials of providing misleading information about his whereabouts.
That is important because Moscow’s state prison authority accuses Mr Navalny of violating a parole order.
Mr Navalny says he was unable to report into the prison service at the end of last year because he was recovering in Germany from being poisoned.
Tom Batchelor2 February 2021 10:29
Wife Yulia at hearing day after being fined for rally
Alexei Navalny’s wife, Yulia, is present at the hearing after being fined on Monday for taking part in a protest to demand his release.
She was ordered to pay a fine of about £190 for participating in an unauthorised rally.
She posted on Instagram “It’s great in Sokolniki today!”, referencing the neighbourhood in the northeast of Moscow where Mr Navalny was being held.
Tom Batchelor2 February 2021 10:25
Russia says foreign diplomatic presence at Navalny hearing ‘evidence of Western meddling’
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the presence of foreign diplomats at Alexei Navalny’s hearing was evidence of Western attempts to interfere in Moscow’s domestic affairs.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Facebook that the diplomats’ presence was proof of what she called the West’s attempts to contain Russia.
“Even if Westerners see Navalny as ‘theirs’, he is a citizen of the Russian Federation,” she said.
Tom Batchelor2 February 2021 10:17
Photos of Navalny in court
Photo provided by Moscow City Court of Alexei Navalny talking to his lawyers during the hearing
(AP)
Navalny holds a document up to a glass screen from his court cell
(AP)
Tom Batchelor2 February 2021 09:54
Number of arrests outside court grow
Our Moscow correspondent, Oliver Carroll, is in court to hear Alexei Navalny’s sentencing.
He says there have already been 127 arrests outside the building.
Earlier, he tweeted comments made by Mr Navalny to his wife of 21 years, Yulia Navalnaya.
Tom Batchelor2 February 2021 09:40
Russian police detain people outside court
Large numbers of police deployed near the court hearing Alexei Navalny’s case were seen detaining more than 100 people, a monitoring group said.
OVD-Info said Russian police detained 112 people on Tuesday.
Navalny’s jailing has triggered massive protests across Russia over the past two weekends, in which tens of thousands took to the streets to demand his release.
Many protesters also chanted slogans against Putin. Police detained thousands of participants each time. Some were beaten.
(AP)
(REUTERS)
Tom Batchelor2 February 2021 09:20
Navalny awaits outcome of Tuesday’s trial
Moscow’s Simonovsky District Court has convened to consider jailing Alexei Navalny for up to three and a half years.
The case has sparked nationwide protests, including a planned rally outside the court building on Tuesday.
Police have deployed in force near the court building and cordoned off nearby streets.
Tom Batchelor2 February 2021 09:10
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s rolling coverage of developments from Moscow where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is due to be sentenced.
Tom Batchelor2 February 2021 09:06
