Russia's most prominent opposition figure has been arrested and detained for 30 days after returning to Moscow for the first time since being poisoned last year. The international community demanded that the Russian authorities immediately release him, as was reported by the BBC.
Mr. Navalny said a court ruling from a police station was a mockery, urging people to stage street protests. He was detained soon after his flight from Germany landed in Moscow on Sunday. Russian prosecutors say he violated the parole terms of a suspended sentence for embezzlement. Mr. Navalny, in turn, has described the embezzlement charges as politically motivated.
US and European leaders have led calls for his release.
The Amnesty International called the arrest at the airport "an additional proof of attempts to silence the politician". The human rights organization also demanded that the Russian authorities immediately release Alexei Navalny and the journalists who were detained in Vnukovo. A total of 53 other detainees were reported.
"The arrest of Alexey Navalny is another evidence that the Russian authorities are trying to silence him. His detention only emphasizes the need to investigate his allegations that he was poisoned by state intelligence agents acting on the orders of the highest level," Natalia Zvyagina, the head of Amnesty International's Moscow office, said.
In addition, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevich warned that the European Union should consider imposing new sanctions against Russia if Alexei Navalny is not released.
"The detention of Alexey Navalny is absolutely unacceptable. We demand his immediate release from the Russian authorities. The European Union should react quickly if it is not released, it is necessary to consider imposing sanctions against Russia in connection with this action," he tweeted.