European foreign policy chief to visit Russia over Navalny’s jailing
MOSCOW: The outcry grew in Russia over the crackdown on peaceful protesters on Thursday as EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was set to visit the country under pressure to confront Moscow over the imprisonment of opposition figure Alexei Navalny.
Borrell’s visit - the first to Russia by a top EU envoy since 2017 - comes at a period of unusual turbulence in the country, with tens of thousands taking to the streets in support of President Vladimir Putin’s top critic.
Navalny was sentenced this week to nearly three years in prison. On the eve of the EU foreign policy chief’s visit, a court sentenced Sergei Smirnov, chief editor of Mediazona - an online news publication often critical of the government - to 25 days in jail over a retweet of a joke that included the time of a recent protest rally. Monitors say at least 10,000 people have been detained at the nationwide demonstrations.
The jailing of Navalny, 44, and the crackdown sparked outrage among many Russians, and top broadsheets added their voices to the chorus of condemnation.
“Over the past few weeks we’ve witnessed extremely harsh actions of members of law enforcement,” prominent broadsheet Kommersant said. “Beatings and mass detentions should not become the norm in our country.”
Kommersant said Smirnov’s arrest was an “attempt to intimidate” both Mediazona and other media.
On Thursday, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Brussels and Moscow should be able to freely discuss “all existing differences”. He reiterated Kremlin support for the police response, insisting demonstrations have not been authorised.
“There is no repression whatsoever,” he added.