Putin criticizes Navalny for making corruption allegations
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 24 April 2017 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Putin criticizes Navalny for making corruption allegations, 24 April 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59818d3613.html [accessed 1 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
April 24, 2017 14:30 GMT
By RFE/RL
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and anticorruption campaigner Aleksei Navalny (composite file photo)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, indirectly accusing him of using his anticorruption campaign to gain political prominence.
Without naming Navalny in comments at a meeting in St. Petersburg on April 24, Putin criticized people he said use anticorruption slogans "as an instrument in their own political fight for promoting themselves."
Navalny was behind anticorruption rallies that brought tens of thousands of people onto the streets across Russia on March 26, the biggest protests against Putin's government in about five years.
Police detained more than 1,000 people in Moscow alone, beating some of them in a show of force, and Navalny was jailed for 15 days.
Navalny has called for another nationwide protest on June 12.
He wants to run for president in a March 2018 election in which Putin is widely expected to seek a new six-year term.
Navalny, however, may be barred from the ballot over a conviction on a financial-crimes charge that he says was baseless and politically motivated.
With reporting by Interfax and TASS
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
