A PETITION TO DEMAND THE RELEASE OF ALEXEI NAVALNY

FROM CUSTODY IN RUSSIA.

Alexei Anatolievich Navalny (Алексей Анатольевич Навальный), born 4 June 1976, is currently Russia's leading opposition leader and is forcibly detained in the Matrosskaya Tishina Prison on accusations of violating parole conditions. He is accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of being responsible for his poisoning. Navalny was detained, arrested and imprisoned on January 18 from allegations that occurred 6 years ago. The sentence was declared illegal and condemned by The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).


OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS
Behind Navalny's walk into politics lies a successful trail of accomplishments.

Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) (2011).
Russian Opposition Coordination Council (2012).
Russia of the Future (2012).
Nobel Peace Prize Candidate (2020).

In summary, he earned his international reputation from organizing demonstrations and from running for office. His objective: to push for reforms against the corruption happening in Russia, the removal and disciplinary action against Russian President Vladimir Putin and to "stop" Putin's government.


TALENTED

Throughout Navalny's political ventures, he is known for his success for using both social media and older traditional methods of communication: ranging from distributing materials, organizing political demonstrations and publishing online materials about corruption while promoting his campaign interests. Currently, it is stated that Navalny has more than six million YouTube subscribers and more than two million Twitter followers alone.

EXPOSING CORRUPTION
In a radio interview, he spoke of the ruling party of Russia as "a Party of crooks and thieves," which became popular among Russian constituents. From the shared efforts of Navalny and the Russian Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), they have published details that led to investigations of corruption by high-ranking Russian officials. In March 2017, they released a documentary entitled: "He Is Not Dimon to You," which strongly accuses Dmitry Medvedev, former prime minister and former president of Russia, of corruption that led to mass protests across the country.

HOW THE RUSSIAN ELITE RETALIATED AGAINST NAVALNY
According to news reports in January of 2017, Navalny was accused in a "trumped-up case" involving Yves Rocher (Vostok), a subsidiary in the Eastern section of the country, who sued Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and his brother Oleg for fraud and money laundering. Bruno Leproux, managing director of Yves Rocher (Vostok), assisted the Russian government's Investigative Committee's claims against the Navalny sibling. Leproux claimed that the two brothers caused substantial material damage to the location. Despite their primitive attempts to gather evidence, none of the witnesses questioned in court confirmed any damage occurred. Confirming what witnesses stated, the chief financial officer of Yves Rocher later conducted an internal audit that found no damage. The defense argued that Bruno Leproux "wrote the statement of damage under pressure from investigators." Bruno himself was never questioned in court. As a result of this action, Alexei Navalny received a suspended sentence with a probationary period that ended on December 30, 2020.

Some believe that the Kremlin is engaged in attempting to change laws in order to oppress their political opponents so that anything that is considered currently legal - would be Illegal in the future, which would prevent Navalny (and others like him) any chance of suceeding.

NAVALNY ESCAPES DEATH BY POISON ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
In August 2020, a group of killer assassins associated with the Federal Security Service (FSB) poisoned Navalny's belongings. As a result, Navalny was hospitalized in serious condition after the discovery of a nerve agent known as Novichok, a fatal chemical biological weapon, had entered his system. It was reported that he was medically evacuated to Berlin and discharged a month later. During his time in the hospital, he was initially in a coma for 18 days from the potency of the Novichok nerve agent. He was not well after being released from the hospital and spent 5 additional months under supervision during his time in Germany. Navalny accused Putin of being responsible for his poisoning. As a result of this incident and the evidence obtained, The European Union and the United Kingdom responded strongly by imposing sanctions on Russian officials involved.

According to a BBC-Russia article (Alexei Navalny: How his team found Novichok bottle evidence in Tomsk, Andrey Kozenko, September 23, 2020), the suspicion of a cup of tea from Tomsk Airport triggered the concern of German agents, who in turn, made the assumption that whatever was causing this reaction in Navalny had happened before they arrived at the airport. As stated in the article, "members of Navalny's recovery team can be seen packing various objects, including three plastic water bottles, into "blue plastic bags" as they went back to secure potential evidence. A similar article appeared in the case report of the Lancet Journal of Medicine that stated Navalny "became confused and began to sweat heavily on a domestic flight in Russia approximately 10 min after departure; he vomited, collapsed, and lost consciousness." More than a dozen doctors involved certified the claims of Novichok being present in Navalny's body. (Novichok, which means "newcomer" in Russian, is a group of advanced nerve agents that were developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s. They were known as fourth-generation chemical weapons and were developed under a Soviet programme codenamed "Foliant.")

In late December of 2020, Navalny reportedly released a video which shows him pretending to be a Russian security officer in order to make a phone call to a chemical weapons expert named Konstantin Kudryavtsev. According to news sources, the chemist said that the poison had been "in Navalny's clothing, especially concentrated in his underwear" and that "Navalny would have died -- if not for the plane's emergency landing and quick response from an ambulance crew on the runway." The video, entitled "Russian Opposition Leader Alexey Navalny Dupes Spy Into Revealing How He Was Poisoned," (https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/21/europe/russia-navalny-poisoning-underpants-ward/index.html), was "picked up" and published on Cable News Network, a major American mainstream media group. Millions that viewed Navalny's situation in the United States were horrified.

REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO SILENCE NAVALNY FAILED
In order to prevent Navalny's return to Russia, the Federal Service for the Execution of Punishments (FSEP) was seeking to replace the suspended sentence with a "real" one, despite the fact that the suspended sentence expired in December. Navalny, while in a coma and undergoing treatment in Germany, was accused of allegedly evading the authorities of FSEP as his whereabouts were listed as "unknown," even though mainstream media broadcasts from every corner of the entire planet had explained in detail of his whereabouts. It has been stated by members of the community that the plan was "hatched" the day before the end of his probationary period.

It is widely known that Navalny has been arrested a number of times by Russian authorities. In an attempt to block Navalny from running in future elections, he received two suspended sentences for embezzlement: one in July 2013 and another in December 2014. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Great Britain’s civil rights affiliate, granted a total of €225,000 based on 6 different complaints that ruled in favor of Navalny, stating that "the cases violated Navalny's right to a fair trial," but sadly they were never overturned.

RETURNING TO RUSSIA
Navalny returned to Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow by plane from Germany on January 17, 2021 after the flight was diverted from Vnukovo Airport. At passport control, he was detained by authorities.

The case was initiated the day before the end of the probationary period. Navalny was detained at the airport. The lawyer was not allowed to see him. This "trial," which already contradicts the laws of Russia, was held with unprecedented violations: without a subpoena to the court: without prior acquaintance with the case and without the consultation of a lawyer. How was this possible? Answer: The father-in-law of Judge Okuneva, who ruled on the arrest of Navalny, are co-owners of firms that receive government contracts from law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Service for the Execution of Punishments. In short, the family of Judge Okuneva receives government income from a business associated with the Federal Service for the Execution of Punishments (FSEP).

The Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) confirmed his detention and said that he would remain in custody until the court hearing. However, prior to his return, the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) had also stated that Navalny may face jail time for violating the terms of his probation leaving Russia, claiming that Navalny breached the terms of a suspended sentence by staying in Germany after he had recovered from the poisoning. Unknown to many people, Navalny had been in a coma when he was transported out of Russia. Navalny was denied to initiate a case on the fact of his poisoning, even though the case was brought against Navalny on completely absurd charges that contained numerous violations.

On January 18, 2021, a court decision ordered the detention of Navalny until February 15, 2021 for violating his parole. On January 19, 2021, while Navalny waited behind bars, a prior investigation by the FBK was published, accusing President Vladimir Putin of corruption. The following video ("Putin's Palace: History of world's Largest Bribe,” duration: 1 hr 53 minutes, [English subtitles]: https://youtu.be/ipAnwilMncI), which describes the scenario, contained damaging material that attempts to give the viewer an inside look into the political controversy.

Another hearing was scheduled on January 28, 2021 to determine whether his suspended sentence should be replaced with a jail term, according to reports. Navalny has been heard describing the entire procedure as "ULTIMATE LAWLESSNESS" and called on his supporters to take to the streets and has continued repeatedly. As of January 23, 2021, Navalny's unlawful arrest has led to protests across Russia. Russian citizens from every corner took part in a rally demanding the release of Navalny in more than 130 cities. Despite freezing temperatures on the day of the protest, people assembled in the tens of thousands. In the city of Yakutsk, temperature was as low as -65 Degrees Fahrenheit (-54 Degrees Celsius)!

OPPRESSION OF FREE SPEECH

The determination of Navalny has consistently exposed more corruption from Putin. As a result, key examples describe what Putin has done (or is trying to do) is as follows:

1) Censorship of Navalny's Message. Most news coverage belongs to the State Media and the television channels are still the main source for many Russians. These stations Rarely feature Navalny's point of view, not to mention portraying him in an extremely very negative way. To seek the support of citizens, the Kremlin refers to Navalny as an "An agent of the West" in order to deceive the public and turn against him.

2) Failed Attempt of a Social Media Shutdown. Putin tried to STOP the January 23rd Protest Rally by telling social media companies (like Facebook, Twitter and Tiktok as well as others) NOT to allow Navalny to have a voice using their platform.

3) Forced Labor. Putin required all government workers to show up for work on Saturday, which in Russia, is NOT a normal work day. Putin threatened anyone not showing up for work that day would be FIRED!

4) Forced Learning. Putin also required students attending institutions of higher learning to go to class on Saturday. He threatened that if they were caught at the rally, they would be expelled from their universities.

5) Putin Tried to Ban Anti-Corruption Investigations. A new proposal surfaced to state that anyone's actions (directly or indirectly) that lead to sanctions against Russian Individuals will be considered an act of Treason. This also meant that a Russian journalist's investigative reporting of corruption would fall into the same category.

Putin says this is a Domestic problem. NO -- it is NOT! This is a worldwide human rights issue. Attempting to suppress the voice of political opponents because you are afraid of them is NEVER a "just cause." This disenfranchisement of the voters is a "Slap in the face" to citizens worldwide in the quest for peace and solidarity and will NOT be tolerated. By definition, freedom, by expression or speech, is everyone's right. We stand in unity against the actions of a dishonorable government.

No More Corruption!

No More Oppression!

No More Police Brutality of Peaceful Protesters!

No More Lies!

DECLARATION OF INITIATIVE

Alexei Navalny has always fought for the rights of his people. Putin is trying to silence his presence by putting him in prison ... and now it's our turn to fight for Alexei. He was threatened by Putin that if he returned to Russia he would be arrested. However, Alexei was not afraid when this happened. He returned to Russia because he has great love for his fellow Russians and is passionate for justice to all human beings and is not afraid of corrupt practices that we can no longer afford or tolerate.

Therefore, WE, the citizens from around the WORLD and in solidarity with Navalny's plight, DEMAND the unconditional release of Alexei Anatolievich Navalny (Алексей Анатольевич Навальный) by the Russian authorities and to request immediate legal assistance from the United Nations and the ECHR on the grounds of human rights abuse, serving as a violation of UN protocols from the Russian government.