PACE Members Request Assembly To Pass Resolutions On Navalny's Arrest, Belarusian Crisis

Umer Jamshaid Published January 22, 2021 | 08:01 PM

The members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have suggested that the legislature discuss the arrest of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny and the situation in Belarus during the 2021 winter session and pass resolutions on the issues after urgent debates, a representative of PACE told Sputnik on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2021) The members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have suggested that the legislature discuss the arrest of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny and the situation in Belarus during the 2021 winter session and pass resolutions on the issues after urgent debates, a representative of PACE told Sputnik on Friday.

PACE will hold the 2021 winter session from January 25-28 in Strasbourg. The assembly's members will attend the session both in person and online due to COVID-19 related precautionary measures.

The representative said that three suggestions had been submitted for the urgent debates with the adoption of a resolution.

"There have been requests for three urgent debates on: - 'The arrest and detention of Alexei Navalny in January 2021' - 'The worsening situation in Belarus', - 'Freedom of expression (Article 10 of the ECHR) under threat by 'Big Tech' Companies'," PACE's official agenda read.

Navalny was detained on Sunday upon his arrival from Germany, where he was treated for his alleged poisoning, and placed in custody for 30 days for violating probation terms on an earlier embezzlement conviction. Many Western countries have issued statements calling for his release while the Russian Foreign Ministry advised them to focus on their own domestic issues.

Belarus entered a prolonged political crisis after the August 9 presidential election, won by incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko. The opposition did not recognize the results, claiming that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was the real winner. Western countries have refused to recognize Lukashenko's victory and slapped sanctions on dozens of Belarusian officials over alleged election fraud and crackdown on the opposition.