Secretary of State Antony Blinken
Antony BlinkenMenendez calls for sanctions against Russia after Navalny protests The Hill’s 12:30 report – Presented by Facebook – Experts respond to J&J vaccine data President of World Economic Forum: Biden, Chinese president may meet in Singapore in May condemns what he says were “harsh tactics” against “peaceful protesters and journalists” during recent protests in Moscow against Vladimir Putin
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In a tweet, Blinken adds that the US ‘renews[s] we call on Russia to release those detained for exercising their human rights, including Aleksey Navalny, ‘after news reports indicated that thousands had been arrested during recent protests.
The US condemns the Russian government’s persistent use of harsh tactics against peaceful protesters and journalists for a second week in a row. We renew our call for Russia to release those detained for exercising their human rights, including Aleksey Navalny.
– Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) 31 January 2021
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Navalny is a top critic of Putin, who according to doctors was poisoned last year by a Soviet nerve agent named Novichok. He was arrested this month after returning to a German hospital in Russia.
The Russian opposition figure has since remained in custody with courts that have found he violated the terms of his 2014 conviction for embezzlement, a conviction that is disputed as politically motivated by the European Court of Human Rights.
His case, according to White House officials, was one of several “worrying issues” touched on during President Biden’s first call with Putin earlier this month.
“President Biden has made it clear that the United States will certainly act to defend its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies. The two presidents have agreed to maintain transparent and consistent communication throughout, ”the White House said in a statement following the call.