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Navalny uses reckless tactics in pursuit of power, Medvedev says

Medvedev described Navalny as ‘political scoundrel,’ whose activities became increasingly ‘cynical and rowdy’

Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev Ekaterina Shtukina/TASS

Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev

© Ekaterina Shtukina/TASS

GORKI, February 1. /TASS/. Deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev described Russian blogger Alexey Navalny as a ‘political scoundrel,’ whose attempts to get into power are becoming more and more ‘cynical and rowdy.’

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"I had this opinion before and I still think that way. I believe that Navanly is a political scoundrel, a person who employs reckless tactics to get into power in order to achieve his own goals," Medvedev said.

"In this regard, Navanly’s actions have become way more cynical and rowdy than they used to be just a few years ago," he added.

Commenting on irregularities, reported by Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service, Medvedev said that those issues must be "resolved in due procedure, that is in court."

"And the court, naturally, has the right to pass any decision that it thinks would be proper and fair in this situation. That is why, in this sense, we need to wait for a court ruling," Medvedev said.

On December 30, 2014, Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky district court sentenced Navalny to 3.6 years in jail with a probation period of five years and a fine of 500,000 rubles (6,800 US dollars) on charges of fraud and money legalization. On August 4, 2017, the probation term was extended for one year.

According to the penitentiary authority, Navalny repeatedly violated the probation term throughout 2020 and missed obligatory registration with the penitentiary inspection twice a month on certain days. Such violations were reported in January 2020 (two), in February, March, July, and August. The last time he appeared for registration was on August 3, 2020. He has been repeatedly warned that such violations could entail revocation of the suspended sentence and its replacement with a real prison term. Navalny was not summoned for registration during the period of his treatment at Berlin’s Charite clinic. However, according to official reports from it, he was released on September 23, 2020. Later, he confirmed this information in a notification to the penitentiary authority. "Nevertheless, despite the lack of objective reasons, he never appeared for registration from October 2020 to the end of the probation period, thus violating the probation terms," the press service explained.

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