Amnesty apologises to Alexei Navalny over 'prisoner of conscience' status

2021-05-07 22:08:57

Amnesty International has apologised to Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny and reversed a decision to stop calling him a "prisoner of conscience". The human rights organisation took the decision earlier this year after concerns were raised about past comments he made. In a statement, Amnesty called for Navalny's "immediate and unconditional release from prison". Mr Navalny is President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic. He was sent to a penal colony in February after a court ruled he had broken the terms of a suspended jail term on embezzlement charges. The 44-year-old only returned to Russia in January following treatment abroad for a near-fatal nerve agent attack. Mr Navalny nearly died in August 2020 when he was poisoned with Novichock. He accuses President Vladimir Putin of ordering the poisoning, which the Kremlin denies.