International Organizations and World Leaders Demand the Release of Alexei Navalny

The court has sentenced Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny to 3.5 years in prison. The court canceled Navalny's probationary sentence, replacing it with actual time in custody. Previously, Navalny had been able to avoid having his probation converted into a real sentence three times.

Following the decision, protests were held in Moscow in support of Navalny. Hundreds of people were detained by the police during the demonstrations.

After the court's decision, international organizations and world leaders called on Moscow to release the opposition figure. Josep Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, urged for Navalny's immediate release, reminding that this contradicts the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, which deemed the case baseless.

Calls for action also came from the White House. The President of France stated on Twitter that political disagreements are not a crime. It is worth noting that the Russian Investigative Committee had previously launched a criminal case against Alexei Navalny on charges of particularly large-scale fraud.