- Two men have been detained in Poland on suspicion of attacking Russian activist Leonid Volkov, an ally of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
- The attack on Volkov occurred on March 12 outside his home in Vilnius, Lithuania.
- The suspect, a Polish national known to police, reportedly traveled to Vilnius before the attack and returned to Warsaw afterward.
two people have been detained in Poland Russian activist Leonid Volkov, an ally of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was attacked on suspicion that he acted on the orders of foreign intelligence services, authorities said Friday.
Volkov was attacked on March 12 outside his home in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, where he lives in exile. Police said at the time that the attacker broke a window of her car, sprayed tear gas into her eyes and attacked her with a hammer.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda announced the arrests to journalists in Vilnius and thanked Poland for its work.
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Nauseda said, “Two people have been detained in Poland on suspicion of beating Russian opposition leader Leonid Volkov. I thank the Republic of Poland for their excellent work. I have discussed this with the Polish President and Thank you for your excellent cooperation.” Said.
Leonid Volkov, chief of staff for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s 2018 presidential campaign, is seen at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on December 15, 2021. Two men have been detained in Poland on suspicion that they attacked Volkov on the orders of foreign intelligence services, authorities said Friday. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)
Both suspects are Polish citizens who were already known to police in their homeland. According to Saulius Briginas, Lithuania’s deputy police chief, before the attack on Volkov he traveled to Vilnius and then returned to Warsaw.
He said he was detained on 3 April in an operation in which Lithuanian police participated.
Chief prosecutor Justas Lausius told reporters that Lithuania expected to hand him over in May. If convicted of the charge of causing bodily harm, he faces up to three years in prison.
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In Poland, Warsaw court spokeswoman Joanna Adamowicz said both men had been arrested by May 13, on suspicion that “they had organized attacks on the territory of the Republic of Lithuania and harmed people’s health.” Russian citizen LW,” while “being active in an organized group and carrying out orders of the special services of a foreign country.”
Volkov’s last name is written with a “w” in Polish.
Adamowicz said in an email to The Associated Press that Warsaw’s Praga District Court has decided to hand him over to Lithuania for the purpose of criminal investigation, on the condition that he serve any potential sentence in Poland.
Their lawyers have filed complaints and the files have been sent to the appeals court in Warsaw, he said. It was not immediately clear how long the appeal might take.
Poland’s Central Bureau of Investigation police confirmed that its officers had worked with Lithuanian police to arrest two men suspected of attacking a Russian opposition activist in Lithuania in March.
The development comes a day after Poland announced the arrest of a Polish man on suspicion of spying for Russia’s military intelligence in an alleged plot to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Volkov said on Twitter, formerly ” Close.”
“As far as details go, we’ll find out soon. Can’t wait to find out!” Volkov wrote.
In this brutal attack, Volkov’s arm was broken and he was admitted to the hospital. he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin “henchmen” at the time of responsibility in the attack and vowed to continue their opposition work.
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The attack came nearly a month after Navalny’s unexplained death in a remote Arctic penal colony. He was Russia’s most famous opposition figure and a harsh critic of Putin. Navalny had been jailed since January 2021 and serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges widely considered politically motivated.
Opposition figures and Western leaders blamed the Kremlin for his death – which Moscow officials vehemently rejected.
Thousands of supporters attended Navalny’s funeral in the Russian capital on March 1, a rare show of defiance amid an unprecedented and brutal crackdown on dissent in Putin’s Russia. Navalny’s widow Yulia vowed to continue his work.
Volkov used to be in charge of Navalny’s regional offices and election campaigns. He ran for mayor of Moscow in 2013 and tried to challenge Putin in the 2018 presidential election. Volkov left Russia several years ago under pressure from the authorities.
