Russia issues warrant for arrest of Alexei Navalny’s brother days after opposition leader’s unexplained death
Russia has issued a warrant for the arrest of Alexei Navalny’s younger brother — just days after the opposition leader’s unexplained death in a brutal Arctic prison.
The Russian state-controlled TASS news agency reported Tuesday, citing information from Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, that Oleg Navalny was being sought by the federal police on an unspecified charge.
It was not immediately clear under which article of the Russian criminal code the new case against the younger Navalny had been opened.
The 40-year-old was already on the Ministry’s wanted list in connection with another case, in which he was accused of violating Russia’s COVID restrictions by encouraging people to join Alexei Navalny’s unsanctioned anti-government protests.
Oleg, who has long been a steadfast supporter of his brother’s opposition movement, previously slammed the charge as politically motivated.
In January 2021, Oleg received a one-year suspended sentence in that case. Under the conditions of his probation, he was barred from leaving the house at night, attending mass events, or traveling outside Moscow.
Six months later, a correctional inspection submitted a petition demanding that Oleg be locked up. By the time a court greenlit his incarceration in February 2022, Oleg had fled Russia, reported Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Court officials said at the time it was suspected that Oleg had boarded a flight to Cyprus. His current whereabouts are unknown.
In 2014, Oleg was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison on a fraud conviction in a case revolving around the Russian subsidiary of the French cosmetics firm Yves Rocher. He was released in 2018.
Kremlin critics said the case was trumped up and designed to put pressure on his late brother, who received a suspended sentence after being found guilty of fraud.
