(Credit: Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©DIPLOMATIC TIMES ) Protestors rally in support of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in front of City Hall in San Francisco, CA June 04, 2023.
By Gary Raynaldo – DIPLOMATIC TIMES CORRESPONDENT
SAN FRANCISCO – Hundreds of supporters of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny rallied in San Francisco Sunday calling for his release. Navalny is Russia’s most prominent opposition figure, known for his strong stance on corruption and openly criticizing the Russian government. The supporters gathered in the Northern California city on the opposition leader’s 47th birthday. In April, the imprisoned anti-Putin critic was reported to be in declining health due to a new suspected poisoning. The San Francisco rally was one of many held around the world in solidarity with the jailed activist and Russia’s opposition. On 20 August 2020, Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent and was hospitalized in serious condition after the activist dared to challenge President Putin. Two days later, Navalny was flown to a hospital in Berlin, where he recovered. Navalny was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow. German Laboratory German technicians concluded Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent from the Novichok group. The poison was similar to the one the Russian military intelligence service (GRU) used against Sergei Skripal in a 2018 assassination attempt in the United Kingdom, where Skripal was living as a citizen. Special UN Rapporteurs Agnès Callamard stated she believed Navalny was poisoned to send a “clear, sinister warning” to anyone wanting to criticize the government of Putin. Last year, Navalny was sentenced to nine years for fraud and contempt of court. The anti-Putin politician steadfastly maintains that the criminal case against him is politically motivated and that he is innocent. Moscow The Kremlin says there is no evidence that Navalny was poisoned and denies any Russian role if he was. Navalny has long been a staunch critic of the Kremlin who repeatedly denounced corruption.
(Credit: Wikipedia) Alexei Navalny in an electoral act in 2013 in Moscow.
DIPLOMATIC TIMES VIDEO / Supporters of Poisoned RUSSIA Opposition Leader Navalny Rally in SAN FRANCISCO June 04, 2023.
DIPLOMATIC TIMES VIDEO / Supporters of Poisoned RUSSIA Opposition Leader Navalny Rally in SAN FRANCISCO June 04, 2023.
Navalny Calls Putin A ‘Naked, Thieving King’
(Credit: Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©DIPLOMATIC TIMES ) A protestor at San Francisco rally in support of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny holds placard calling President Putin a “thief, killer, terrorist” who should “rot in jail”. June 04, 2023.
In April 2021, “after a weeks-long prison hunger strike, a defiant Alexei Navalny appeared by video link in court on Thursday, where he denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “naked, thieving king.” – NPR.
(Credit: Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©DIPLOMATIC TIMES ) Protestors rally in support of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in front of City Hall in San Francisco, CA June 04, 2023.
Pro-Navalny Activists in Russia Risk Persecution, Arrest by Police
According to Radio Free Europe, police in Russia warned activists of possible repercussions for their participation in nationwide rallies to support Navalny. A Russian court decision in June 2021 declared his movement as “extremist”.
(Credit: Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©DIPLOMATIC TIMES ) A protestor at San Francisco rally in support of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny holds effigy of Putin equating him to Adolph Hitler. June 04, 2023.
(Credit: Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©DIPLOMATIC TIMES ) A protestor at San Francisco rally in support of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny holds placard warning “Today Navalny, Tomorrow”. June 04, 2023.
(Credit: Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©DIPLOMATIC TIMES ) Protestor at San Francisco rally in support of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny displays placard demanding “Freedom For All Political Prisoners.” June 04, 2023.
