The White House is demanding the unconditional release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny after a crackdown on peaceful protests over the weekend – and President Joe Biden said Monday he is very concerned about Russia s behavior.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday called for the immediate release of Navalny, who returned to his home country and is being held for 30 days after being poisoned with a chemical nerve agent. These continued efforts to suppress Russia s rights to peacefully protest and assemble, their freedom of expression, the arrest of opposition figure Alexei Navalny and the crackdown on protests that followed are troubling indications of further restrictions on Russian civil society, said Psaki, echoing a State Department statement issued Saturday.
Oleg Tayakin was tracked down near Moscow after being named in investigation
He slammed the door and refused to talk about claims he was part of an FSB plot
FSB security service had allegedly been tracking Navalny for over three years
Undercover teams included chemical weapons experts and secret agents
There was media blackout over the bombshell claims in Moscow on Tuesday
But Putin s goddaughter Kseniya Sobchak called it absolutely brilliant work