Czech foreign minister condemns Navalny arrest in Moscow

Czech Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček has condemned the detention of opposition politician Alexey Navalny as a “politically motivated act”, adding that he wants to bring up the matter at the next EU Council of Foreign Ministers meeting.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council, also sharply condemned Navalny’s arrest as “unacceptable” calling for his immediate release.

The Russian opposition leader was arrested at passport control upon his return to Moscow from Berlin, where he recovered from an assassination attempt with a weapons-grade nerve agent.

Russian authorities claim his absence constitutes a violation of the parole terms specified in a felony conviction in 2014 for embezzlement and money laundering.