Russia ordered diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden, who claimed to have participated in Navalny’s national protests, to leave the country “soon” after declaring them “persona non grata”. The Kremlin Foreign Ministry said on Friday that foreign officials had participated in demonstrations asking the government to release opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was arrested on his return to Russia after a poisoning attempt allegedly ordered by President Vladimir Putin last summer.
Tens of thousands of people across Russia protested Navalny’s arrest on January 23. Navalny was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison on charges dubious by international observers. The opposition leader went to court again on Friday and pleaded not guilty to charges of defaming a Russian World War II veteran who appeared in a video supporting the Kremlin. Navalny referred to the people in the video as “corrupt puppets” and “traitors”.
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