Amnesty International took a turn, with the organization deciding to stop calling imprisoned opposition politician Alexei Navalny a “prisoner of conscience.”
The British arm of Amnesty claims, “it can no longer recognize Navalny as a prisoner of conscience, given that he has called for violence and discrimination and has not withdrawn those statements.”
Amnesty International declared Navalny a prisoner of conscience after his return and arrest at a Moscow airport in mid-January.
Among these, the organization considers people who have not used or incited violence and who are imprisoned for who they are (sexual orientation, identity, language, sex, skin colour or economic status) or for what they believe. After his arrest, the politician was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, net of pre-trial detention, widely regarded as a political trial.
Amnesty admits that the stirring up of Navalny’s controversial statements is part of a campaign to discredit the politician. “Many old social media videos of Navalny making controversial statements have recently resurfaced and actively circulated.
This happened at a time when he was actively challenging Putin’s regime. It seems like a new tactic to discredit Navalny’s criticism and stifle outrage over his detention.”
Navalny made no secret of his nationalist views on immigrants when he emerged in 2006. He joined right-wing nationalist organizations and parties, which put him on a collision course with his then party Jabloko. He was also repeatedly discredited for racist statements against Caucasus and Central Asia residents, although he later said he regretted them.
