The Russian Federal Penitentiary Service said in a statement on Monday that by remaining in Germany after recovering “from his illness”, Navalny was violating the terms of his suspended sentence. The opposition politician considers that the case is politically motivated.
“Based on [Lancet] publication, AA Navalny was discharged from the Charite Clinic on September 20, 2020 and, by October 12, all the symptoms of his disease have passed “, it is shown in the statement of the Federal Penitentiary Service.
“Thus, the convicted person does not fulfill the obligations assigned to him by the court and evades the control of the criminal inspection [service]. “
The service adds that Navalny was ordered to report to the Russian criminal control unit; otherwise, he will be liable and the suspended sentence will be replaced by a real one.
Navalny’s lawyer, Vadim Kobzev, wrote on Twitter late that he had received an order from the criminal control services ordering Navalny to appear in Moscow by 9 a.m. Tuesday.
The case, often referred to as the “Yves Roche case,” dates back to 2014, when Alexey Navalny and his brother Oleg were convicted of embezzlement of about $ 500,000 from two Russian companies between 2008 and 2012. One of the companies was affiliated with a product. french cosmetics. the company, Yves Rocher, and the investigation claimed that Navalny laundered part of the amount. Both were sentenced to three and a half years in prison, but Alexey’s sentence was suspended.
Navalny responded to the news in an Instagram post saying, “Like I said, somewhere there is [Vladimir] Putin in his bunker, beating and shouting “Why didn’t he die?” and if he did not die, then he is twice guilty and now we will close him. “
“But if the Lancet is recognized at the state level, where is the poisoned criminal case ?!” he added.
Navalny’s press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, wrote on Twitter: “It’s fantastic. The Penitentiary Service knows full well that Navalny is being treated in Germany trying to jump on the last train (Alexey’s probationary period ends on December 30!) And ask him to come forward for inspection. Tomorrow! “
The State Department would not explain why the US did not bring any cost to Russia for this poisoning or issued an earlier statement. Wednesday’s statement came after repeated requests for comment from CNN.