President Biden Demands Putin 'Unconditionally Release' Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday called for the unconditional release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny 

Daily Mail: Biden demands Putin 'unconditionally release' opposition leader Alexei Navalny after he is sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison 

 * More than two hundred of his supporters were hauled away by riot police outside the Moscow court after his arrest last month sparked protests by tens of thousands across Russia and a massive crackdown  

 * Navalny, 44, a staunch critic of Vladimir Putin , was arrested on his return from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from Novichok poisoning which he blames on the Kremlin. Russia denies the claim 

 * He faces jail for violating probation terms set down in a 2014 suspended sentence for money-laundering - a conviction which he rejects as politically motivated 

 * Prosecutors allege that Navalny failed to register his whereabouts with the relevant authorities following his release from the hospital in Berlin last year. His defence argues that he was unable to register in person 

The White House and Statement Department called for the unconditional release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny after he was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison Tuesday. 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki read a statement condemning the latest developments in Moscow from the White House podium when asked about the latest development, as state security forces continued to crack down on protests.

Following the sentence, Navalny's allies called for a protest in Moscow's Manezhnaya Square. Riot police have been photographed dragging journalists and protesters away from locations in the capital. 

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WNU Editor: The Kremlin is telling everyone to back-off.

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