President Andrzej Duda said in a Twitter post on Sunday evening that "the actions of the Russian authorities towards Alexei Navalny must not be without consequences for that country’s relations with the international community.”
“On behalf of Poland, a member of the UN Human Rights Council, I appeal for international solidarity in this situation," Duda added.
Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Twitter that “the detention of Alexei Navalny is another attempt to intimidate the democratic opposition in Russia."
He added: “A quick and unequivocal response at the EU level is essential. Respect for civil rights is the cornerstone of democracy. I appeal to the authorities in Russia to immediately release the detainee.”
'Alexey, don’t give up!': Polish FM
Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau tweeted: “I strongly condemn the detainment of Navalny and hope for his immediate release. I express my solidarity with all Russian people who share the ideals of the detained Russian opposition leader. Alexey, don’t give up!”
Police arrested Navalny on arrival in Moscow on Sunday after he flew home to Russia from Germany, where he had been treated, for the first time since he was poisoned last summer.
The Reuters news agency reported that the move, which could see Navalny jailed for 3.5 years for allegedly flouting the terms of a suspended prison sentence, could reignite political pressure on the West to tighten sanctions on Moscow, especially against the contested USD 11.6 billion Nord Stream 2 project to build a gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.
In a case that drew wide international attention, Navalny was poisoned last summer by what German military tests showed was a Novichok nerve agent, a version of events the Kremlin rejects.
(gs-pk)
Source: IAR/Reuters
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