MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) – As a reaction to sanctions against Moscow for the imprisonment of the Kremlin opponent Alexej Navalny, Russia has imposed entry bans on nine high-ranking representatives from Canada. Among them are Justice Minister David Lametti and the Minister for Cooperation with the Regional Administrations, Dominic LeBlanc, announced the Foreign Ministry on Monday evening in Moscow. The head of the Canadian penal system, Anne Kelly, and police chief Brenda Lucki are also no longer allowed to travel to Russia. Canada continues to support “initiatives directed against Russia at various levels,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Canada imposed sanctions on Russia more than two months ago, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow called “illegal”.
Navalny was arrested at an airport in Moscow on his return to Russia from Germany in mid-January. After that, a court sentenced him to several years in a prison camp. He is said to have violated reporting requirements in previous criminal proceedings while he was recovering from an attack with the neurotoxin Novitschok in Germany. The EU and the USA have already imposed sanctions on Russia because of the conviction. / Cht / DP / he
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