Russia is giving President Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny an ultimatum to fly back immediately to Moscow or risk imprisonment.
Russia’s prison service gave Navalny a deadline for returning to Moscow from Germany on Tuesday, according to Reuters. If he returns past the deadline, Navalny will be jailed, the agency warned.
The Federal Prison Service accused the dissident of violating the terms of a suspended prison sentence he is still serving over a 2014 conviction and of evading the supervision of Russia’s criminal inspection authority.
Navalny is currently serving out a suspended 3.5-year prison term over a theft case he claims was politically motivated. His probation period is set to expire on Dec. 30.
Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said it was impossible for Navalny to return by the deadline, given that he is still convalescing in Germany, where he was airlifted for treatment after collapsing on an airplane. It was later discovered that Navalny was poisoned.
“There’s no way he could appear at the Moscow Criminal Inspectorate tomorrow,” Yarmysh said. “But does the FSIN really care about common sense? They were given an order. They are fulfilling it.”
Navalny, with the support of several Western countries, including the United States, said the Kremlin was behind his poisoning and that it was an attempt to murder him for being a vocal critic. The Soviet-era Novichok nerve agent was used to poison Navalny.
An investigation conducted by CNN and the online investigative outlet Bellingcat took thousands of phone records, flight manifests, and other documents to identify the team of toxin experts who were behind Navalny’s poisoning. The team, made up of six to 10 agents, trailed Navalny for more than three years before the attack.
Russia has denied any involvement in the matter, and the Kremlin said Navalny is free to return to Russia at any time like any other Russian citizen.
