US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took to Twitter on Sunday to criticize Russia’s decision to arrest Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader who had just returned to Moscow after recovering from the poisoning of nerve agents. which he blames the Kremlin.
“Deeply saddened by Russia’s decision to arrest Aleksey Navalny,” Pompeo tweeted. “Confident political leaders do not fear competitive voices and also do not see the need to commit violence or wrongly persecute political opponents.”
Jake Sullivan, the elected president of Joe Biden, national security adviser, also insisted on Twitter asking for Navalny’s immediate release.
“The Kremlin’s attacks on Mr Navalny are not only a violation of human rights, but also an insult to the Russian people who want their voices heard,” Sullivan tweeted.
Navalny’s detention at passport control at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport was widely expected because the Russian prison service said he had violated parole conditions of a suspended sentence on a 2014 conviction.
Navalny traveled from Berlin to Moscow after recovering from his poisoning in Germany in August. Confusion surrounded his arrival in Russia – his plane had to land at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, where supporters and the media were waiting.
The 44-year-old, who is the main political enemy of President Vladimir Putin, allayed concerns about the arrest when he boarded a plane in Berlin.
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“It’s impossible. I’m an innocent man,” he said.
James Rogers and Fox News Associated Press contributed to this report