The Russian Foreign Ministry called on Western countries not to interfere in their affairs, after the issuance of many official Western statements calling for the release of the opposition Alexei Navalny, who was sentenced to 3 and a half years imprisonment.
This came according to the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in statements made to local media.
The Russian official said, "It is not necessary to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state, and we advise everyone to pay attention to their problems."
She indicated that the Russian Foreign Ministry has consistently responded to such statements over the past two weeks.
She pointed out that "the pretext appears on its own, and they do not need any facts or information, and if there is no excuse, they will fabricate it."
Russian authorities have arrested thousands of supporters of Navalny, who condemn his arrest and imprisonment (Reuters)
behind bars
On Tuesday, a Russian court sentenced the opposition Alexei Navalny to 3 and a half years in prison, and while calls were made to continue the protests, Western countries denounced the ruling and called for the immediate release of Navalny, who is considered the most prominent political opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The judiciary convicted Navalny of violating his conditional release, but the verdict made clear that the sentence would be reduced by the amount of time he spent under house arrest earlier.
Russian authorities arrested more than 1050 people during demonstrations that took place in several parts of the country, especially in the capital, Moscow, to protest the ruling against Navalny.
The "OVD-Info", a non-governmental organization specialized in following up on protests, said that the overwhelming majority of these detainees (865) were arrested in Moscow.
Navalny was arrested on January 17 after his return from Germany, where he was undergoing treatment for an illness that he contracted after "an attempt to kill him with a nerve agent."
Navalny's allies called on their supporters to immediately protest the ruling in central Moscow, and Navalny's lawyer said his client would appeal.
During his appearance before the judiciary, the Russian opposition said that the judicial procedures against him were aimed at frightening millions of opponents of President Vladimir Putin, as he put it.
During his trial, Navalny said, "The main thing in this process is to intimidate an enormous number of people, that's how it works."
"They put someone behind bars to scare millions," he added.
Navalny again accused the Russian authorities of trying to assassinate him due to his poisoning with the nerve gas "Novichok" last August, which necessitated his airlifting to receive treatment in Germany.
"We showed and proved that Putin, with the help of the FSB (intelligence), committed this assassination attempt," Navalny said.
"Now many people know that, and others will know, and this matter drives the man in the hideout crazy," he added.
Navalny's wife and some of his supporters in front of the court on Tuesday (Reuters)
Western reactions
Britain demanded Tuesday "the immediate and unconditional release" of the Russian dissident Navalny, condemning the decision of the "deviant" Russian judiciary to imprison him for more than two years.
"The United Kingdom calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Alexei Navalny and all the peaceful demonstrators and journalists who have been arrested in the last two weeks," British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.
And he considered that the "deviant" decision of the Russian judiciary shows that the country does not fulfill "the minimum obligations that any responsible member of the international community expects."
For his part, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called for the immediate release of the Russian dissident Navalny, describing the prison sentence issued against him as a "severe blow" directed at the rule of law in Russia.
"Today's verdict against Alexei Navalny is a severe blow to basic freedoms and the rule of law in Russia," Maas wrote on Twitter. "Navalny should be released immediately."
Earlier on Tuesday, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe demanded the release of prominent Russian dissident Alexei Navalny.
This was stated by Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Linde, who is chairing the current session of the organization, during a press conference with her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
Linde expressed concern about the deterioration of democracy and human rights in Russia, noting that she called on Lavrov to work for Navalny's release.
For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry said today, Tuesday, that the presence of foreign diplomats at Navalny's trial session is evidence of some Western attempts to interfere in Moscow's affairs.
Navalny’s supporters watched his trial via a video link on the Internet (Reuters)
A wave of protests
The ruling comes after a weekend of protests in support of Nafalny throughout Russia, which is the largest wave of protests in the country.
The protests erupted after the publication of a video investigation by Navalny accusing President Vladimir Putin of owning a luxurious "mansion" on the shore of the Black Sea, an investigation that was viewed more than 100 million times on YouTube.
In rare scenes, the city center of Moscow was cordoned off by security forces, who prevented the demonstrators from approaching Lubyanka Square, the headquarters of the Russian intelligence services and the first gathering point.
The authorities arrested thousands of demonstrators;
This led to new tensions between the West and Moscow.
The protests are gaining a great political momentum because they come a few months before the legislative elections in light of the decline in the popularity of the ruling United Russia party.