In a video posted on Twitter, Navalny said the judge was presiding over the case at a makeshift court in a police station. Addressing the camera, he says: “It’s impossible, what’s happening here. It’s the highest level of lawlessness, there’s no other word for it.”
The outspoken Kremlin critic was detained by police who were waiting when his flight landed at Sheremetyevo airport. Navalny was returning from Germany after spending five months in hospital in Berlin recovering from an assassination attempt blamed on the Kremlin.
The plane had been rerouted shortly before landing from Vnukovo airport, on the other side of the Russian capital, where photos posted online showed thousands of Navalny supporters had gathered.
The UK has closed all of its travel corridors meaning extra restrictions for passengers.
Whether by plane, train, boat or road, all travellers will have to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken in the 72 hours before departure or face a fine or £500 (€560).
All passengers will still be required to quarantine for up to 10 days on arrival but the isolation period can be cut short with a negative test after five days.
The exemptions for low-risk countries and people travelling for business reasons have been removed.
But there are exemptions for those from Ireland, which has special arrangements with the UK, and those from British overseas territories arriving from the Falklands and St Helena.
UK Demands Release of Putin Critic Alexei Navalny
The UK government on Monday joined international calls for Russia to release opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who was detained on Sunday.
Navalny, a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was detained on arrival at a Moscow airport after he flew home to Russia from Germany for the first time since he was poisoned last summer.
Navalny could be jailed for three-and-a-half years for allegedly flouting the terms of a suspended prison sentence.
“It is appalling that Alexei Navalny, the victim of a despicable crime, has been detained by Russian authorities. He must be immediately released,” UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.
Joe Biden will be keeping busy during the first days of his presidency after vowing to enact several executive orders right away while on the campaign trail.