American lawmakers chairing the Helsinki Commission of the US Congress issued a statement on the anniversary of the arrest of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, expressing confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin had imprisoned Navalny because he saw him as a serious threat to his power.
“Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have imprisoned Alexei Navalny if he did not see him as a serious threat to his power,” Voice of America quoted Steve Cohen as saying.
“Navalny and his team have played an important role throughout Russia in uncovering the illicit proceeds of Putin and his associates. “That’s all you need to know about why they started being persecuted,” Cohen said.
Senator Ben Cardin said Navalny was imprisoned for “unjust accusations” and that while in prison, the Kremlin began persecuting anti-corruption organizations linked to Navalna with double force, declaring them “extremist”.
“Despite the Kremlin’s efforts to push Navalny out of the public eye and prevent him from challenging Putin, we will not stop demanding his release,” said Congressman Joe Wilson.
Navalny was detained at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport on January 17 last year after returning from Germany, where he was being treated for more than four months after a chemical poisoning by Novichok in Russia.
Navalni believes the Kremlin, which has denied the allegations, is behind his poisoning.
On February 2, Navalny was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for violating the terms of a suspended prison sentence in 2014 while receiving treatment in Germany.
Since mid-March, Navalny has been housed in the 2nd Correctional Facility in Pokrov, Vladimir Oblast.-
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