A Russian court issued an arrest warrant for Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, during a hearing held in her absence. Yulia Navalnaya, who currently resides abroad, would face arrest upon her return to Russia. The Basmanny District Court in Moscow ordered her arrest on charges of alleged involvement in an extremist group.
Alexei Navalny, a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, died in February while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges that he claimed were politically motivated. Navalny had returned to Moscow in January 2021 after recovering from a nerve agent poisoning in Germany that he attributed to the Kremlin.
Yulia Navalnaya has accused Putin of being responsible for her husband’s death and has vowed to carry on his work. Russian authorities have denied any involvement in Navalny’s poisoning and death.
Related Stories
Yulia Navalnaya ridiculed the court’s decision on the social media platform X. Her spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, characterized the ruling as a recognition of her accomplishments. The specific charges against Yulia Navalnaya have not been disclosed by Russian authorities, but they seem to be related to the designation of Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption as an extremist organization. The banning of Navalny’s group in 2021 led to his associates and team members leaving Russia.
