Week-ending 23 July 2021
‘Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny’s life is no longer at immediate risk as he started receiving the medical care he required on 23 April. Russian authorities still refuse to release him despite the unlawfulness of his detention, established by the European Court of Human Rights and other international bodies. Amnesty International will continue demanding Alekei Navalny’s immediate and unconditional release and justice for him and other victims of politically motivated persecutions in Russia.’
– ‘RUSSIAN FEDERATION: FURTHER INFORMATION: HEALTH NO LONGER AT RISK, UNJUST DETENTION REMAINS: ALEKSEI NAVALNY,’ Amnesty International, 20 July 2021
Related news and developments:
Amnesty International, 20 July 2021: On 17–19 September 2021, elections to the State Duma will be held in Russia, along with local elections in some constituencies. Against the backdrop of the reported falling popularity of Vladimir Putin and his ruling United Russia party, the authorities are both stepping up reprisals against their critics and trying out ever more direct ways of eliminating their political opponents. In previous elections, the main tools for eliminating unwanted candidates were refusals to register them or their disqualification for minor or imaginary infringements of the electoral process. This time, the authorities are applying a much more heavy-handed and sinister approach.
RFE/RL, 21 July 2021: Police in Moscow have detained two former members of jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny’s team and extended the house arrest of his spokeswoman as a state pressure campaign against civil society groups continues. With opinion polls indicating waning support for the Kremlin-backed ruling United Russia party, the authorities have ramped up pressure on dissent ahead of the September elections.
The Moscow Times, 21 July 2021: A Moscow court on Wednesday extended by six months the house arrest of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s spokeswoman, a top ally said. Russia will hold parliamentary elections in September, and ahead of the polls authorities declared Navalny’s organizations extremist and barred his allies from running.
RFE/RL, 21 July 2021: A former Russian policeman who criticized security officials for their treatment of protesters supporting Aleksei Navalny says he has been charged for insulting a government official. Sergei Rimsky said on July 20 that the Investigative Committee had informed him of the charge, which stems from an incident in April when he demanded officers respect the rights of those they were detaining, including him, at a rally for the country’s leading opposition figure.
