Alexei Navalny: Biden calls for Russian opposition leader to be released

Leading critic of Vladimir Putin jailed after surviving nerve poisoning attack

Joe Biden has called for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to be released from prison.

A Moscow court ordered that Mr Navalny serve a three-and-a-half year prison sentence for parole violations on charges that his lawyers say are politically motivated.

Now the US president has called for the immediate release of Mr Navalny, who is a leading critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

“We are deeply concerned by Russian authorities decision to sentence Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

"Like every Russian citizen, Mr Navalny is entitled to the rights provided in the Russian constitution and Russia has international obligations to respect equality before the law and the rights to freedom of expression and peacful assembly.

“We reiterate our call for the Russian government to immediately and unconditionally release Mr Navalny, as well as the hundreds of other Russian citizens detained in recent weeks for exercising their rights.”

Mr Navalny was already serving a 30-day prison term for parole violations following his arrest in Moscow on 17 January.

He was taken into custody by authorities when he returned to Russia from Germany, where he had been treated for a nerve agent poisoning that took place last August.

He has blamed Mr Putin for ordering the attack, which the president and the Kremlin have denied.

Ms Psaki told reporters at the daily press briefing that Mr Biden’s national security team was carrying out a review of Russia’s recent actions.

“There is an ongoing review of a number of the concerning actions by the Russian government, which includes the treatment of Alexei Navalny, it includes a full assessment of the SolarWinds hacks, it includes a review of the reports around bounties on troops, and includes an assessment on engagement in the 2020 election," she said.

And Ms Psaki added that once the review was complete it would “launch whatever policy process to determine what steps we take from here.”

Since Mr Navalny’s return to Russia and arrest, thousands of protesters have been detained by police, including his wife, Yulia.