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world news Diaranson 27 Januari 2021

Navalny ally vows to press for his freedom despite crackdown

(AP) — A top ally of Alex- different regions in the after- Voting” that is designed to parliamentary vote, a key for unknown.”
ei Navalny vowed Tues- math of the protests, mostly promote candidates who are the Kremlin as it will deter-
day to keep up the fight on the charges of violence most likely to defeat those mine who controls the State She cited an example of po-
to free the jailed Russian against police, Russia's Inves- from the dominant ruling Duma in 2024. That’s when lice officers unexpectedly
opposition leader and his tigative Committee said. party. Putin’s current term expires showing up at her home 10
battle to influence this and he is expected to seek re- minutes before the news
year's parliamentary elec- Dozens of Navalny associ- In 2019, the project helped election, thanks to constitu- conference.
tion despite a government ates in various cities were candidates backed by Naval- tional reforms last year.
crackdown on nationwide detained before the protests, ny win 20 of 45 seats on the Almost proving her point, an
protests and its attempts including Sobol, his spokes- Moscow city council, and re- On Thursday, a court is official interrupted the event
to create a climate of fear. woman Kira Yarmysh and gional elections last year saw scheduled to hear an appeal minutes later, trying to serve
longtime ally Georgy Al- United Russia lose its major- on the ruling to jail Navalny. a subpoena to a Navalny ally
U.S. officials said President burov. Sobol was released ity in legislatures in three cit- When asked about a possible who wasn't there.
Joe Biden raised concerns within hours and ordered to ies. outcome, Sobol said that “we
about Navalny's arrest in his pay a fine, while Yarmysh and do live in an unpredictable “I (didn't do it) on purpose,
call Tuesday with Russian Alburov were jailed for nine Analysts believe Navalny is country; what will happen they come on their own,” So-
President Vladimir Putin, and 10 days each. capable of influencing the next and tomorrow is literally bol said with a chuckle.
and the G7 foreign ministers
also criticized the jailing of “Putin is trying to stop people
Navalny and the demonstra- from protesting and fighting
tors demanding his release. for their rights through fear
and criminal probes,” Sobol
Lawyer and politician Lyubov said. “We can only continue
Sobol told a news conference our work in these circum-
that Navalny's Foundation stances.”
for Fighting Corruption and
his team's regional offices The crackdown continued to
will continue to operate even bring international outrage.
amid the “arrests of our fol- The top diplomats of the
lowers and allies, open crimi- United States, Britain, Can-
nal probes (and) criminal ada, France Germany, Italy
probes that are yet to come." and Japan, as well as the high
representative of the Euro-
Sobol, herself under investi- pean Union, condemned the
gation on criminal charges of “politically motivated arrest
trespassing that she insists are and detention” of Navalny
bogus, said she is not afraid and said they were “deeply
of being arrested and doesn't concerned by the detention
plan to leave the country. of thousands of peaceful pro-
testers and journalists.”
“It would be hard to say that
I'm prepared for it, but si- The Kremlin had earlier dis-
lence, fear and indifference missed Western criticism as
are more dangerous," she told interfering with Russia’s in-
reporters. ternal affairs.

Navalny, President Vladimir Navalny's team has called for
Putin's fiercest critic, was ar- more demonstrations on Jan.
rested and jailed earlier this 31 and Feb. 2, when a court
month after returning to Rus- is scheduled to consider mo-
sia from Germany, where he tions to convert his suspend-
had spent nearly five months ed sentence into a real prison
recovering from a poisoning term.
with a deadly nerve agent that
he blames on the Kremlin. Even if he is sent to prison,
Russian authorities deny the his supporters won't be de-
accusations. terred, Sobol said, citing the
political goals of stopping the
The politician faces a prison Kremlin's party, United Rus-
term, with authorities ac- sia, in the upcoming parlia-
cusing him of violating the mentary balloting.
terms of a 2014 conviction
for fraud, a prosecution that “There are lots of plans and
he says was politically moti- tasks for the nearest future,
vated. (as well as) midterm and
longterm (ones), and every-
On Saturday, nearly 4,000 one understands what needs
people were detained across to be done both tomorrow,
Russia during nationwide and a month from now, and
protests that drew tens of half a year from now," Sobol
thousands demanding Na- said. “One of the main goals
valny's release, according to is to ... destroy the monopoly
OVD-Info, a human rights of United Russia in the par-
group that monitors political liamentary election that will
arrests. take place this September.”

Authorities launched 20 Navalny has launched a
criminal investigations in campaign known as “Smart