Swiss concerned about arrest of Russian activist
The Swiss foreign ministry has expressed concern about the arrest of the Russian opposition politician, Alexei Navalny.
“The justice system has to be independent from politics and it has to respect human rights,” the foreign ministry told the Swiss news agency, Keystone-SDA, on Monday.
Legal procedures must not be used for political purposes and every human being is entitled to a fair treatment, the ministry added.
Unlike the United States and the European Union, Switzerland stopped short of calls to free Navalny.
In September, the Swiss government called on Russia to launch an independent inquiry into a poisoning attack allegedly carried out by a Russian intelligence unit. However, Moscow has denied any involvement.
A court in Moscow on Monday remanded Russia’s prominent opposition leader and anti-corruption activist in pre-trial detention for 30 days for violating the terms of a suspended jail sentence.
He was arrested by police on Sunday at a Moscow airport when he returned to Russia from Germany where he recovered from the poisoning attack in August.
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