Russian ambassador called in by Czech Foreign Ministry over the imprisonment of Alexei Navalny

The Russian ambassador to the Czech Republic was summoned by the country’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday in regards to the sentencing of Alexei Navalny, a fierce rival of the Kremlin.   

The leader of the opposition in Russia was sentenced to jail on Tuesday for two years and eight months by a court in Moscow on the charges of violating the conditions of the previously suspended sentence of 2014. 

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Tomas Petricek, the foreign minister of Czech Republic criticised the imprisonment of Navalny and labeled it as “a show trial” while urging the European Union to revive the sanction strategy. 

“The foreign ministry has summoned Russian ambassador (Aleksander) Zmeyevsky,” the foreign ministry said in a Wednesday tweet.

On Wednesday, the ministry tweeted, “The foreign ministry has summoned Russian ambassador (Aleksander) Zmeyevsky. Deputy minister Ales Chmelar protested against Navalny’s jailing, which we consider politically motivated, and against the brutal police action against peaceful protesters.”

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Navalny, upon his arrival from Germany, was arrested in Moscow in January, where he was under medical treatment after being poisoned in Russia. 

The incident has since then triggered major protests and demonstrations throughout Russia in support of the 44-year-old and has resulted in the detention of over 10,000 protesters by Russian law enforcement authorities.