Alexei Navalny: Jailed Kremlin critic marks a year since returning to Russia
Monday marks a year since Russian authorities detained prominent government critic Alexei Navalny on arrival from Germany, where he was recovering from a poisoning attack he and the West blame on the Kremlin.
He was then given a jail term of more than two years for breach of parole in a financial fraud case on February 2, 2021. He is currently serving the term in a penal colony in the Vladimir region of Russia.
His poisoning and arrest sparked widespread condemnation abroad as well as sanctions from Western capitals.
Last year, the European Parliament awarded Navalny the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought after he was nominated but passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize.
On Monday, Navalny said that he had "no regrets" about his return to Moscow from Berlin. "I did it, I don't regret it for a second. And I will continue to do it," he added in his Instagram post.
"Having served my first year in prison, I want to tell everyone exactly what I shouted to those gathered outside the court when a convoy led me to a police van: don't be afraid of anything."
A post shared by Алексей Навальный (@navalny)
Investigators last year launched a new extremism probe against Navalny that could see the opposition leader spend up to 10 more years in jail.
Navalny's political organisations were also then branded "extremist" and shuttered by staff fearing prosecution.
Almost all of his top allies have since fled the country.
Last month, investigators questioned several former regional Navalny coordinators, including Ksenia Fadeyeva, who is also a local lawmaker in the Siberian city of Tomsk.
Allies say she is facing up to 12 years in prison for working with an extremist organisation.
Meanwhile, just days ahead of the anniversary of Navalny's arrest,
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