Putin critic in custody
Politician returning home after poisoning
MOSCOW — Police detained prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on arrival at a Moscow airport Sunday after he flew home from Germany for the first time since he was poisoned last summer.
The move, which could see Navalny jailed for 31/2 years for allegedly flouting the terms of a suspended prison sentence, is likely to spark a wave of western criticism of President Vladimir Putin.
In a case that drew wide international attention, Navalny was poisoned last summer by what German military tests showed was a Novichok nerve agent, a version of events the Kremlin rejected.
Navalny's plane from Berlin was diverted to another Moscow airport at the last minute in an apparent effort by authorities to thwart journalists and supporters greeting him.
After Navalny said last week that he planned to return home, the Moscow prison service said it would arrest him once he returned, accusing him of flouting the terms of a suspended prison sentence for embezzlement, a 2014 case he said was trumped up.
But the 44-year-old opposition politician laughed and joked with journalists on his plane, saying he was not afraid and did not believe he would be arrested.
He was swiftly detained when he showed his passport to border guards before formally entering Russia, Reuters witnesses said. His wife Yulia, his spokesperson, and his lawyer were allowed to enter Russia.
FSIN said in a statement that Navalny was detained due to the alleged violations of his suspended prison sentence and would be held in custody until a court hearing later this month that will rule whether to convert his suspended sentence into a 31/2-year jail term.