Alexey Navalny calls Igor Strelkov ‘political prisoner’
Opposition politician Alexey Navalny wrote on social media that he considers the arrest of Igor Strelkov, the Telegram blogger and former FSB agent who was found guilty of shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, to be illegal.
“As long as he remains in custody on this ridiculous and obviously politically motivated charge, he is a political prisoner,” Navalny said.
He noted that Strelkov was arrested not on charges related to the July 2014 downing of MH17 the Donetsk region, but “on a fictitious and fabricated case of extremism.” “Simply put — for criticizing the authorities. And specifically Shoigu and Putin,” Navalny stated.
Strelkov was arrested on July 21 on charges of extremism over two posts on his social media accounts. In November 2022, Strelkov, whose real name is Igor Girkin, was sentenced in absentia for the downing of MH17, which was shot down with a Russian surface-to-air Buk missile over the Donetsk region of Ukraine on July 17, 2014. Strelkov is also a former FSB officer who led Russia-backed troops in eastern Ukraine. From May to August 2014, he also served as defense minister of the self-proclaimed “DNR.”
Igor Strelkov was arrested illegally. As long as he remains in custody on this ridiculous and obviously politically motivated charge, he is a political prisoner.
Strelkov was previously convicted by a court in the Netherlands in a process that, in my view, is consistent with the principle of judicial independence. In any case, the fact of the murder of 298 Boeing passengers must be investigated by Russia and all those responsible must be punished fairly. Strelkov himself does not deny his participation in the fighting in Ukraine in an undetermined manner. All this, too, should be investigated and given a fair assessment by the court. But now Strelkov has been arrested not on charges of committing a real crime, but on a fictitious and fabricated case of extremism. Simply put — for criticizing the authorities. Specifically, Shoigu and Putin.
Certainly, Strelkov's criticism is criticism from the right. He scolded the cannibals for their insufficient appetite. And gave advice on how better to eat people. And how to wage an illegal, aggressive, and stupid war. However, regardless of Strelkov’s views, we must stand on the the side of law and justice. A person can only be judged for the crime he committed. To gloat that Strelkov has fallen victim to his own government is to publicly support lawlessness.
