Russia has issued an arrest warrant for Oleg Navalny, the brother of the country’s opposition leader Alexei Navalny who died in prison on Friday.
According to the TASS news agency, Russia’s Interior Ministry’s database indicates that Oleg is sought for unspecified charges under the Criminal Code.
The British Daily Express reports that in 2021, Oleg received a one-year suspended sentence from Moscow’s Preobrazhensky Court for allegedly attempting to organise an unsanctioned rally. He faced restrictions including a curfew and travel limitations within Moscow.
Despite a court order for his incarceration in February 2022, Oleg had already left Russia.
It is believed he may have travelled to the Republic of Cyprus, though his current location remains uncertain.
Oleg Navalny had previously been wanted in connection with another case, accused of breaching COVID-19 restrictions by promoting unsanctioned anti-government protests led by his brother, Alexei.
In 2014, Oleg was sentenced to over three years in prison on fraud charges involving the Russian subsidiary of the French cosmetics company Yves Rocher but was released in 2018.
The timing of the warrant against Oleg is notable, coming shortly after Alexei Navalny died in custody in an Arctic prison, with his widow attributing his death to President Putin and the Kremlin.
Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei’s widow, has publicly accused the Russian government of concealing her husband’s body.
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