PACE To Hold Consultations On Navalny On Thursday - German Parliament

BERLIN/PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2021) Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)� on Thursday will deliberate on the situation with Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny during its spring session, the German Bundestag said on Monday.

"On April 22, PACE will hold an urgent debate on the situation around the imprisoned opposition politician Alexey Navalny in Russia based on a report by French lawmaker Jacques Maire. He had met with Navalny in Berlin before his return to Moscow," the Bundestag said in a statement.

The PACE spring session, scheduled from Monday to Thursday, is held in a hybrid format, which is full-time and part-time formats, as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus pandemic. The Russian delegation will participate in the session remotely. According to the parliament, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will address the PACE on Tuesday.

Besides Navalny, the session will also discuss other issues including the human rights situation in Belarus and Ankara's recent withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention on Women's Rights. The delegations are also expected to touch on the protection of fundamental rights regarding vaccination passports and certificates, protection of minorities in Europe, and others.

In January, Navalny returned to Moscow from Berlin after receiving medical treatment for alleged poisoning with a nerve agent in Russia. The opposition activist was arrested on arrival and referred to a court, which in early February rescinded his suspended sentence in the 2014 Yves Rocher fraud case over multiple probation breaches and replaced it with a 3.5-year term behind bars. A Moscow city court reinstated the ruling but reduced the sentence to 2.5 years.

Brussels has repeatedly demanded that Navalny be set free unconditionally, calling his sentencing politically motivated.

In the meantime, the jailed opposition figure, who has been complaining about severe back and leg pain, went on a hunger strike at the end of March, after being denied a visit by a doctor of his own choice. The 44-year-old has been diagnosed with two spinal hernias but has refused the treatment offered by the prison authority. The latter assessed Navalny's health as stable and satisfactory by medical professionals and said that he has been receiving all necessary care.

Earlier on Monday, Navalny was transferred to a prison hospital, several days after his private doctors released results of his analysis saying he is in danger of a kidney failure or a heart attack.

The European Union imposed a set of sanctions against some Russian officials last fall over their alleged role in what it sees as an attempt to poison Navalny. Moscow called the measures illegal and warned Brussels that it was driving bilateral relations to a dead end.