The sanctions against Russia in connection with the case of blogger Alexei Navalny need to be made “really effective.” This was announced on Sunday, January 24, by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on the air of the France Inter radio station.
According to him, on January 25, a meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU countries will take place, at which the participants will also discuss the Navalny case.
The head of the French Foreign Ministry declared the need to “shed light” on the circumstances of the case.
In addition, he criticized the actions of law enforcement agencies at illegal protests in Russia, which took place the day before.
The fact that the EU foreign ministers will discuss possible actions in connection with the Navalny case at a meeting on January 25, was announced last week by the spokesman for the community’s foreign policy service Peter Stano.
In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted on January 18 that all statements by foreign leaders on the Navalny issue were said “as a carbon copy.” According to the head of the Russian department, the purpose of the statements of Western politicians is to divert attention from the crisis in the liberal development model.
On the eve, uncoordinated actions took place in different cities of Russia. Several dozen people were detained in Moscow and St. Petersburg. It is known that there are children among the detainees. Previously, the authorities have repeatedly reminded that the involvement of minors in riots is punishable by law.
According to the Moscow Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, about 4 thousand people were present at the unauthorized event on Pushkin Square in the capital, including children.
On January 22, the Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case on the involvement of minors in unlawful actions based on the facts of calls for participation in protest actions.
The capital’s Main Investigation Department of the TFR opened criminal cases on violence against government officials, damage to property and hooliganism.
The head of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (HRC) under the President of Russia, Valery Fadeev, said on January 24 that there were no violations during the detention of participants in uncoordinated actions. He expressed confidence that in the absence of provocations and clashes with the police, the detainees would be released after drawing up an act on violation of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
Alexei Navalny was detained at the Sheremetyevo airport on January 17 on his return from Berlin. The procedure was carried out by the officers of the search department of the FPS. According to the department, the blogger was on the wanted list for multiple violations of the probationary period from December 29, 2020.
At the same time, the Federal Penitentiary Service in Moscow took into account the fact that since August 22 last year, the Russian has been treated in the Berlin clinic “Charite”. According to the clinic, he was discharged on September 23, but the blogger did not respond to the notice of his appearance on October 23 and did not appear on registration, according to which he was put on the wanted list.
Only in November did Navalny send a notification to the Federal Penitentiary Service that he was living in Berlin, where he was restoring his health. He did not provide official confirmation of treatment after discharge.
A court in Khimki near Moscow on January 18 arrested Navalny for 30 days.
The EU has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the detentions in Russia. In particular, the arrest of the action artist Pyotr Pavlensky for setting fire to the doors of the FSB building in Moscow in 2016. However, in October 2017, Pavlensky, who was in France as a political refugee, and his wife Oksana Shalygina were arrested for setting fire to the entrance to the Bank of France building in Paris.
On January 1, 2019, a French court sentenced him to two years of probation and a year of actual imprisonment.