German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas joined on Monday the calls for immediate release of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, who was detained in a Moscow airport immediately after returning from Germany
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2021) German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas joined on Monday the calls for immediate release of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, who was detained in a Moscow airport immediately after returning from Germany.
The Russian activist spent nearly five months in Germany, where he received treatment following a suspected poisoning. Navalny said repeatedly he had a firm intention to return to his homeland. On Sunday, upon landing at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, he was detained by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service for probation violations.
"The detention of Alexey Navalny is absolutely inexplicable. It is necessary to apply the principles of rule of law and protection of civil rights to his case, which Russia is obligated to follow, based on the constitution and international commitments. He must be released immediately," Maas said, as quoted by the German Foreign Office.
The US Department of State, European Council President Charles Michel and several European foreign ministers have already called on Moscow to release Navalny. Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek pledged to bring up the detention at the EU Foreign Affairs Council. European Parliament President David Sassoli, who qualified the detention as an offense to the international community, confirmed readiness to invite Navalny to the European Parliament.
