Prominent opposition activists have been arrested at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport where they gathered to greet their leader, Alexei Navalny, who is returning to Russia from Germany after recovering from an alleged poisoning attempt.
Lyubov Sobol and Ruslan Shaveddinov from Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) were detained at one of the cafes inside the airport, along with activist Konstantin Kotov. The reason for their arrest currently remains undisclosed.
According to various media reports, around a dozen of Navalny’s supporters have so far been apprehended by police at Vnukovo.
The airport’s administration earlier warned that public gatherings have been banned on site as part of measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus. Entering the airport building is only allowed for those with plane tickets.
Navalny is returning to Russia on Sunday aboard a plane belonging to low-cost airline Pobeda. Media reports have been claiming that he could be arrested at the airport over a breach of probation terms.
The opposition activist and blogger has been in Germany since late August 2020. He was delivered to Berlin in a coma after feeling sick on a domestic flight in Russia a few days before that.
The medics at the Charite clinic in the German capital claimed that their tests showed the activist was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok, while Navalny blamed the Kremlin for being behind the attack against him.
Russian authorities have flatly denied those accusations, pointing out that all requests for the activist’s medical data have been left unanswered by Berlin, as have offers to investigate the incident together.
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