Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detained on Sunday detained after flying back to Moscow, more than four months after he left the country in a coma following poisoning by Novichok nerve agent.
Navalny boarded a plane in Berlin, Germany, where he was evacuated for treatment in August from a hospital in Siberia following his poisoning.
His press officer Kira Yarmysh was quoted as confirming that the plane, which was originally headed for Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport, was diverted to the capital Sheremetyevo Airport shortly before landing.
Yarmysh posted a video pf Navalny being escorted away by officials in Sheremetyevo.
He was detained without explanation and was not allowed to bring his lawyer. Yarmysh tweeted that Navalny’s whereabouts and statuswere unknown.
Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. government, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. and New York City.
