Detained opposition leader rushed to court hearing

MOSCOW: Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was rushed to a court hearing inside a police station yesterday, a day after he was detained at a Moscow airport.

The UN and Western nations told Russia to immediately free the opposition leader and some countries called for new sanctions. Moscow told them to mind their own business.

Mr Navalny, in a video from inside the police station, called the hearing “the highest degree of lawlessness” and lashed out at President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of throwing the criminal code out of the window in fear.

The Kremlin was expected to comment on his case later on yesterday, but usually refers questions about Mr Navalny to law enforcement agencies.

His detention was ordered by Moscow’s prison service in relation to alleged violations of a suspended prison sentence in an embezzlement case he says was trumped up.

Yesterday’s court hearing, parts of which were live streamed by Mr

Navalny’s allies, may rule for him to be held in custody until a different court decides whether to convert that suspended 3.5-year sentence into real jail time.

Some of his allies said they feared the hearing might skip that interim stage and convert his suspended sentence itself.

The rouble weakened as investors weighed the risk of new sanctions against Moscow.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia said they wanted the European Union’s foreign ministers to discuss further sanctions against Russia yesterday for detaining Mr Navalny.

A possible target of any new penalties would be a US$11.6 billion (349 billion baht) project to build a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.

The UN human rights office called for Mr Navalny’s immediate release, saying it was “deeply troubled” by his arrest and demanding due process in line with the rule of law.