MOSCOW (RUSSIA) – Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is being used by the West in an attempt to destabilise Russia, a prominent hardliner and ally of President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday. He said he must be held accountable for breaking the law over and over again.
Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council, called for Navalny to expose him to the full force of the law, through comments that gave a peek into the atmosphere inside Russia’s security establishment followed by the protest of tens of thousands of Navalny’s supporters against his jailing on Saturday.
Patrushev told the Argumenty i Fakty media outlet, “He (Navalny), this figure, has repeatedly (and) grossly broken Russian legislation, engaging in fraud concerning large amounts (of money). And as a citizen of Russia he must bear responsibility for his illegal activity in line with the law.”
Patrushev said, in a reference to the 2014 revolution in Ukraine that ousted a Moscow-backed president, “The West needs this figure to destabilise the situation in Russia, for social upheaval, strikes and new Maidans.”
When asked about Patrushev’s comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was up to a court to decide on the opposition politician’s case and that it was not a matter of concern for the Kremlin.
Navalny faces a court hearing on February 2.
Peskov on Tuesday said no dialogue can be carried with illegal protesters, accusing them of acting aggressively and of using what according to him was unprecedented violence against the police.
In a sign that Russian authorities may crack down hard after the protests, the Kommersant newspaper on Tuesday cited unnamed security sources as saying it would lead to a criminal investigation that would consider the demonstrations as “mass unrest”.
The West has called for Navalny’s release, but the European Union has said it will maintain restraint from imposing fresh sanctions on Russian individuals if Moscow sets Navalny free after 30 days.