Navalny allies, offices targeted in raids as Kremlin ups pressure
MOSCOW» Police officers raided the apartments and offices of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and of his allies Wednesday, increasing pressure on the Kremlin’s loudest critic before more protests planned this weekend in his support.
The raids signaled that authorities are gearing up for a new legal strike against Navalny’s team after demonstrations last weekend drew tens of thousands of Russians to the streets of more than 100 cities. At least some of Wednesday’s raids involved allegations that coronavirus restrictions had been violated at the rallies, Navalny’s allies said.
Navalny remains in jail after being arrested upon his return to Russia on Jan. 17, facing a court hearing next week on alleged parole violations that could result in a years-long prison sentence.
He had spent the previous five months recovering in Germany from a poisoning that he described as an assassination attempt by the Russian state — and his return helped precipitate the biggest anti-Kremlin protests in years.
His supporters hope that public pressure will lead the Kremlin to release Navalny, but Wednesday’s raids suggested that it had no intention of doing so. Raids were conducted at Navalny’s apartment and that of his wife, his YouTube studio, his foundation’s office and the homes of at least four close associates.
The Kremlin denies having anything to do with Navalny’s poisoning.
On Wednesday, police officers came to the home of Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and forced their way into her apartment despite her insistence that they wait for her lawyer to arrive, according to video from the scene.
“They’ve broken my door and entered the apartment,” Navalnaya yelled down to journalists outside her Moscow high-rise. “They won’t let my lawyer in.”
Two other associates of Navalny — his spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, and a member of his investigations team, Georgy Alburov — were taken from jail to be present at their apartments as they were searched, their supporters said. Navalny’s brother, Oleg, was reported detained for 48 hours.
The apartment of Anastasia Vasilieva, who leads a medical workers group allied with Navalny,
also was searched. Her spokesperson posted a video of Vasilieva playing the piano while being confronted by a police officer.
The leader of Navalny’s anticorruption foundation, Ivan Zhdanov, posted surveillance camera footage to Twitter showing a stream of police officers crowding the corridor at the organization’s office.
It was not clear what the officers were looking for, although Zhdanov said the searches were connected to allegations of health code violations.