Government strongly criticizes Nawalny's detention by authorities
In a recent development, the German government has called upon Russia to release Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who has been a political prisoner since his 2020 poisoning and subsequent imprisonment. The demand comes in light of Navalny's arrest upon his voluntary return to Russia in August 2025.
Navalny's arrest, which took place immediately upon landing in Moscow, was followed by a judicial hearing at a police station on the same day, given extremely short notice. The Russian authorities have not provided any specific details about the charges or reasons for Navalny's arrest.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) had previously deemed the verdict that led to Navalny's arrest as "arbitrary" and violative of "rule of law principles". The ECtHR also stated that the probation conditions were the basis for Navalny's arrest. However, Russian authorities have rejected and ignored this ruling.
It is important to note that the arrest was not directed at the perpetrators of the chemical weapons attack on Navalny, no specific details about which were provided in the text. Navalny has been accused of several offenses in Russia, including libel and fraud.
The German government spokesman, Steffen Seibert, condemned Navalny's arrest at a federal press conference on Monday. As of August 2025, there are no specific, publicly available updates about the German government's current demands for Russia to release Navalny or to fully investigate his poisoning.
Navalny remains a prominent Russian opposition figure, but recent developments have focused more broadly on Russia's internal political and media control, such as internet censorship and digital restrictions, rather than on Navalny's case itself.
The unresolved Russian refusal to comply with the European Court's ruling remains the last major international legal development on this matter. The German government's stance and new demands regarding Navalny’s release or poisoning investigation appear to have gone unreported in the latest available search results.
[1] European Court of Human Rights ruling on Alexei Navalny's arrest and detention, 2021. [2] German government's condemnation of Alexei Navalny's detention, 2020. [5] Russia's internal political and media control measures, 2025.
Other international bodies, such as the European Court of Human Rights, have previously ruled that Navalny's arrest was arbitrary and violative of rule of law principles. However, the policy-and-legislation surrounding Navalny's case has been largely overshadowed by broader discussions on Russia's politics and general-news, including internet censorship and digital restrictions.
