AUCKLAND, New Zealand (CU)_New Zealand has joined several other nations in calling on the Russian Government to release President Vladimir Putin’s main political rival, Alexei Navalny.
New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta said the pacific island nation is concerned regarding the detention of Alexei Navalny and called for his immediate release.
“Civil society and political opposition must be able to operate freely – these are essential elements of democratic societies,” she said in a statement.
In August last year, Navalny, the leader of the main Opposition Party in Russia, fell ill on a flight back to Moscow from Siberia. He was still in a coma when he was admitted to Berlin’s Charite Hospital, and tests performed there showed the presence of the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.
Navalny says the Russian Government was behind his poisoning, claims which have been confirmed by journalists who have carried out independent investigations into the matter.
On Sunday (Jan 17), the Russian opposition leader returned to his home country after recovering in Germany, and he was detained by Russian authorities soon after he touched down in Moscow.
The remarks made by New Zealand’s Foreign Minister joined the chorus of prominent international voices which have demanded that Navalny be released from detention.
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said the detention was one of the many attempts of the Russian government to silence Navalny and other opposition figures who are critical of President Putin’s administration.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the poisoning of Navalny through a chemical weapon was “outrageous” and assured the UK’s commitment to join its allies to ensure justice is served. “The Russian Government must now explain what happened to Mr Navalny – we will work with international partners to ensure justice is done,” PM Johnson said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also condemned the move, claiming that the arrest was “arbitrary”, and her Foreign Minister, Steffen Seibert, called on Putin to release Navalny immediately.
Navalny has been an outspoken critic of long-time President Putin, who came to prominence in 2008 after he began exposing corruption in Russian politics through a blog.
It is reported that Navalny was in good spirits on the plane shortly before his arrest on Sunday. He had told journalists who flew with him from Berlin that he was “extremely happy” to be returning to Russia, and is not afraid.
