Top Security Official:
Navalny Being Used by West to Destabilize Russia
MOSCOW (Dispatches) -- Jailed Western-backed blogger Alexei Navalny is being used by the West to try to destabilize Russia, a top security official said on Tuesday, adding he must be held to account for repeatedly breaking the law.
Navalny was remanded in custody for 30 days last week after returning from Germany where he had been recovering from an alleged nerve agent poisoning. He could face years in jail for parole violations and other legal cases.
Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council, called for Navalny to face the full force of the law in comments that offered a glimpse into the mood inside Russia after Navalny’s supporters exhorted by the U.S. embassy protested against his jailing on Saturday.
"He (Navalny), this figure, has repeatedly and grossly broken Russian legislation, engaging in fraud concerning large amounts of money. And as a citizen of Russia he must bear responsibility for his illegal activity in line with the law,” Patrushev told the Argumenty i Fakty media outlet.
"The West needs this figure to destabilize the situation in Russia, for social upheaval, strikes and new Maidans,” Patrushev said, in a reference to the 2014 revolution in Ukraine that ousted an anti-Western president, plunging the country into a civil war which continues to this day.
When asked about Patrushev’s comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was up to a court to make further decisions in the blogger’s case and that it was not a matter for the Kremlin.
Navalny faces a court hearing on Feb.2.
Police reportedly detained more than 3,700 people on Saturday as protesters called on the Kremlin to release Navalny. The Kremlin said the protests were illegal.
Peskov on Tuesday said there could be no dialogue with illegal protesters, accusing them of behaving aggressively and of using unprecedented violence against the police.
He said incidences of police violence against rioters, some of which were captured on video, were far fewer and being investigated.
In a sign that Russian authorities may crack down hard after the riots, the Kommersant newspaper on Tuesday cited unnamed security sources as saying they may open a criminal investigation that would treat the demonstrations as "mass unrest”.
The West has called for Navalny’s release, but the European Union has said it will refrain from fresh sanctions on Russian individuals if Moscow releases Navalny after 30 days.
Navalny was remanded in custody for 30 days last week after returning from Germany where he had been recovering from an alleged nerve agent poisoning. He could face years in jail for parole violations and other legal cases.
Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council, called for Navalny to face the full force of the law in comments that offered a glimpse into the mood inside Russia after Navalny’s supporters exhorted by the U.S. embassy protested against his jailing on Saturday.
"He (Navalny), this figure, has repeatedly and grossly broken Russian legislation, engaging in fraud concerning large amounts of money. And as a citizen of Russia he must bear responsibility for his illegal activity in line with the law,” Patrushev told the Argumenty i Fakty media outlet.
"The West needs this figure to destabilize the situation in Russia, for social upheaval, strikes and new Maidans,” Patrushev said, in a reference to the 2014 revolution in Ukraine that ousted an anti-Western president, plunging the country into a civil war which continues to this day.
When asked about Patrushev’s comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was up to a court to make further decisions in the blogger’s case and that it was not a matter for the Kremlin.
Navalny faces a court hearing on Feb.2.
Police reportedly detained more than 3,700 people on Saturday as protesters called on the Kremlin to release Navalny. The Kremlin said the protests were illegal.
Peskov on Tuesday said there could be no dialogue with illegal protesters, accusing them of behaving aggressively and of using unprecedented violence against the police.
He said incidences of police violence against rioters, some of which were captured on video, were far fewer and being investigated.
In a sign that Russian authorities may crack down hard after the riots, the Kommersant newspaper on Tuesday cited unnamed security sources as saying they may open a criminal investigation that would treat the demonstrations as "mass unrest”.
The West has called for Navalny’s release, but the European Union has said it will refrain from fresh sanctions on Russian individuals if Moscow releases Navalny after 30 days.