Alexei Navalny’s wife arrives at court after her arrest at a rally supporting her husband – as Russian prosecutor supports plan to convert Putin critic’s suspended sentence into jail time
- Yulia Navalnaya was photographed arriving at a Moscow court on Monday
- Her lawyer said she has been charged with attending an unauthorised protest and faces a 15-day administrative arrest
- She was one of nearly 4,500 people arrested at rallies over the weekend in support of detained opposition figure Alexei Navalny
- Russian prosecutors have backed a request to imprison the Kremlin critic
The wife of prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny attended court on Monday, a day after she was arrested at a rally in support of her husband.
Yulia Navalnaya was photographed arriving at the Moscow court where she is charged with attending an unauthorised demonstration.
Her lawyer Svetlana Davydova told Russia’s TASS news agency on Sunday that Navalnaya had been arrested and released on the understanding that she would appear in court today.
She also said that Navalnaya is facing a 15-day administrative arrest.
This was Navalnaya’s second arrest in as many weeks and came as Russian prosecutors backed a request by the prison service to imprison Navalny.
Yulia Navalnaya (pictured), the wife of prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny attended court on Monday, a day after she was arrested at a rally in support of her husband
Navalnaya’s lawyer Svetlana Davydova told Russia’s TASS news agency on Sunday that she had been arrested and released on the understanding that she would appear in court today. Pictured: Navalnaya arrives at a Moscow court on Monday
Navalnaya (right) is facing a 15-day administrative arrest, her lawyer said. It is her second arrest in as many weeks and came as Russian prosecutors backed a request by the prison service to imprison Navalny
On Monday, the General Prosecutor’s Office issued a statement saying the motion to change the opposition figure’s suspended sentence to jail time was ‘considered lawful and justified’.
The 44-year-old is facing charges of violating the terms of a 2014 suspended sentence and could be jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Navalny was detained at a Moscow airport in mid-January after flying back to Russia from Germany where he was recovering from being poisoned with a nerve agent in an attack he blames on the Kremlin.
The anti-corruption campaigner is being held in a high-security detention centre and faces years of potential jail time in several different criminal cases.
Western governments have called for Navalny’s release while his team have urged supporters to gather in front of Moscow’s Simonovsky district court on Tuesday.
Russian police have detained more than 5,300 people across the country in a massive clampdown on anti-Kremlin protests, a monitor said on Monday.
On Sunday, thousands of protesters defied government warnings and rallied from Vladivostok to Saint Petersburg in a second week of mass demonstrations over the arrest of President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent opponent.
OVD Info, which monitors arrests at opposition protests, said more than 5,300 people had been detained, including nearly 1,800 people in Moscow and almost 1,200 in Saint Petersburg.
Pressure from Western powers grew on Monday as France urged Germany to scrap a major gas pipeline project with Russia in protest over Navalny’s detention.
‘We have always said we have the greatest doubts on this project in this context,’ European Affairs minister Clement Beaune told France Inter radio.
Asked specifically if France wanted Berlin to drop the project, Beaune said: ‘Indeed, we have already said this.’
Pressure from Western powers grew on Monday as France urged Germany to scrap a major gas pipeline project with Russia in protest over Navalny’s detention. Pictured: A specialist works onboard the Allseas’ deep sea pipe laying ship Solitaire to prepare for NordStream II in September 2019 [File photo]
The United States and several European countries have also criticised the Nordstream II project, saying it will increase German and EU dependence on Russia for critical gas supplies. Pictured: Workers are seen at the construction site of the Nord Stream II gas pipeline near the town of Kingisepp, Russia, in June 2019 [File photo]
The United States and several European countries have also criticised the Nordstream II project, saying it will increase German and EU dependence on Russia for critical gas supplies.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has insisted on the project, which saw work resume in December after nearly a year’s delay due to US sanctions.
Beaune said European leaders were weighing new sanctions against Russia over Putin’s crackdown on the opposition led by Navalny.
‘Sanctions have already been imposed, we could do that but we have to be clear, they will not be enough,’ Beaune said.
‘The Nordstream option is one under consideration,’ he added, while acknowledging that ‘it’s a decision for Germany, because the pipeline is in Germany.’
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