٠٠:٠٣:١٣German government spokesperson Steffen Seibert condemned the arrest of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny upon his return to Russia at the weekend and called for his immediate release, during the biweekly press conference in Berlin on Monday.
"To accuse Mr Navalny of violating the parole conditions on the account of an arbitrary sentence violates constitutional principles," he stated.
Seibert also highlighted that Germany has the support of "all the European member states" who have "an equal great interest" in resolving the Navalny case.
Seibert further urged the Russian government to "fully clarify" the circumstances of the alleged "military chemical weapon attack on Russian soil (against Navalny)," saying that Russia has "everything necessary for that."
The statement comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Germany hasn’t provided Russia with 'material evidence' of Navalny’s alleged poisoning.
The minister added that everything that has happened to Navalny after his arrival to Moscow on Sunday "belongs to the competence of law enforcement agencies" and was expounded in the statement of the Federal Penitentiary Service.
"In this statement, there are specific facts of violations that have been recorded, it was explained why these claims had been made, and here, I think, can be no questions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is about the implementation of Russian laws."
Navalny was detained by personnel from the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) at passport control in Sheremetyevo airport on Sunday evening.
According to the FSIN, Navalny was detained “for systematic violations of the conditions of the probation period related to the Yves Rocher case.”
The Russian political activist returned to Moscow from Berlin, where he had been undergoing treatment and rehabilitation since August.
Navalny arrived in the German capital aboard a medical plane on August 22 last year, after falling ill during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow on August 20. The plane had been forced to make an emergency landing in Omsk where Navalny was rushed to hospital.
The German government has said independent laboratories from France and Sweden had confirmed findings by German military toxicologists that Navalny was 'poisoned' with a Novichok nerve agent. Tests by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons also suggest Navalny was exposed to Novichok.
Germany: Government calls on Russia to release Navalny 'immediately'
German government spokesperson Steffen Seibert condemned the arrest of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny upon his return to Russia at the weekend and called for his immediate release, during the biweekly press conference in Berlin on Monday.
"To accuse Mr Navalny of violating the parole conditions on the account of an arbitrary sentence violates constitutional principles," he stated.
Seibert also highlighted that Germany has the support of "all the European member states" who have "an equal great interest" in resolving the Navalny case.
Seibert further urged the Russian government to "fully clarify" the circumstances of the alleged "military chemical weapon attack on Russian soil (against Navalny)," saying that Russia has "everything necessary for that."
The statement comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Germany hasn’t provided Russia with 'material evidence' of Navalny’s alleged poisoning.
The minister added that everything that has happened to Navalny after his arrival to Moscow on Sunday "belongs to the competence of law enforcement agencies" and was expounded in the statement of the Federal Penitentiary Service.
"In this statement, there are specific facts of violations that have been recorded, it was explained why these claims had been made, and here, I think, can be no questions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is about the implementation of Russian laws."
Navalny was detained by personnel from the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) at passport control in Sheremetyevo airport on Sunday evening.
According to the FSIN, Navalny was detained “for systematic violations of the conditions of the probation period related to the Yves Rocher case.”
The Russian political activist returned to Moscow from Berlin, where he had been undergoing treatment and rehabilitation since August.
Navalny arrived in the German capital aboard a medical plane on August 22 last year, after falling ill during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow on August 20. The plane had been forced to make an emergency landing in Omsk where Navalny was rushed to hospital.
The German government has said independent laboratories from France and Sweden had confirmed findings by German military toxicologists that Navalny was 'poisoned' with a Novichok nerve agent. Tests by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons also suggest Navalny was exposed to Novichok.
German government spokesperson Steffen Seibert condemned the arrest of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny upon his return to Russia at the weekend and called for his immediate release, during the biweekly press conference in Berlin on Monday.
"To accuse Mr Navalny of violating the parole conditions on the account of an arbitrary sentence violates constitutional principles," he stated.
Seibert also highlighted that Germany has the support of "all the European member states" who have "an equal great interest" in resolving the Navalny case.
Seibert further urged the Russian government to "fully clarify" the circumstances of the alleged "military chemical weapon attack on Russian soil (against Navalny)," saying that Russia has "everything necessary for that."
The statement comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Germany hasn’t provided Russia with 'material evidence' of Navalny’s alleged poisoning.
The minister added that everything that has happened to Navalny after his arrival to Moscow on Sunday "belongs to the competence of law enforcement agencies" and was expounded in the statement of the Federal Penitentiary Service.
"In this statement, there are specific facts of violations that have been recorded, it was explained why these claims had been made, and here, I think, can be no questions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is about the implementation of Russian laws."
Navalny was detained by personnel from the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) at passport control in Sheremetyevo airport on Sunday evening.
According to the FSIN, Navalny was detained “for systematic violations of the conditions of the probation period related to the Yves Rocher case.”
The Russian political activist returned to Moscow from Berlin, where he had been undergoing treatment and rehabilitation since August.
Navalny arrived in the German capital aboard a medical plane on August 22 last year, after falling ill during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow on August 20. The plane had been forced to make an emergency landing in Omsk where Navalny was rushed to hospital.
The German government has said independent laboratories from France and Sweden had confirmed findings by German military toxicologists that Navalny was 'poisoned' with a Novichok nerve agent. Tests by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons also suggest Navalny was exposed to Novichok.