Russia Angered At Spectacle Of 20 Western Diplomats Packing Navalny Court Hearing

A Moscow court is mulling whether to extend opposition activist and politician Alexei Navalny’s current 30-day jail sentence after he returned from Berlin last month where he recovered from an alleged nerve agent poisoning which he’s blamed on Russian intelligence on orders from Putin. He could reportedly be handed a stiff three-and-a-half year prison sentence related to a 2014 embezzlement case and subsequent probation violation, which he has said is “politically motivated”. 

Russia’s foreign ministry is now angered at the spectacle during Tuesday’s court proceedings which saw a large number of Western diplomats crowd the courtroom.

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that while they are free to attend public trials, the fact that there were some 20 of them from countries including the United States, Bulgaria, Poland, Latvia, Austria, and Switzerland, shows there’s an attempt to meddle in Russia’s internal legal affairs. 

The trial is taking place in Moscow City Court, and after the unusual influx of foreign diplomatic personnel into the proceedings on Tuesday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov was also prompted to say:

“They are free to act in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, but not outside this convention. Of course, diplomats must not interfere in Russia’s domestic affairs in any way and what is more, they must not allow any actions that would be in any way associated with attempts to pressure an independent court,” according to TASS.

For the Kremlin, the scene constitutes more “proof” of a hidden foreign hand behind the Navalny saga. Putin has also previously suggested a foreign intelligence plot to put pressure on Russian leadership. 

Further according to TASS:

He [Peskov] pointed out that these foreign diplomats must “define their actions somehow.” “Either they agree with the need to take tough action against those who violate the Russian law, or this is an attempt to put pressure on the court. I reckon they will define their position somehow,” he said.

WATCH: Alexey Navalny appears in a Moscow court in handcuffs pending a decision on whether the Russian opposition leader will be jailed for up to 3 and a half years on alleged violations of probation https://t.co/55KbF2KOzb pic.twitter.com/w927PUP0HU

— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) February 2, 2021

The hearing comes after two consecutive weekends of sizeable protests in various Russian cities which the government has declared illicit.

All eyes are on Navalny’s fate, given the US is now threatening new sanctions and other punitive measures while demanding his immediate release. 

Navalny today told the court that Putin’s “fear and hatred” are behind the politically motivated case against him. “The aim of the hearing is to scare a great number of people,” Navalny said. “They jail one man to scare millions.” https://t.co/FK9RFYtTSK via @RFERL

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) February 2, 2021

It’s Russia’s prison service which is requesting the longer prison sentence, alleging “unlawful conduct” during his probation period.

Since his return from Berlin to Moscow, he’s reportedly urged supporters to take to the streets from his jail cell while also leveling charges of unprecedented theft and corruption against Putin and his associates.