The human rights organization Amnesty International revoked Russian political prisoner Alexey Navalny’s “prisoner of conscience” label after videos and social media posts of Navalny engaging in “hate speech” resurfaced, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported.
Amnesty International revoked the label after the organization became aware of Navalny’s old social media posts, according to RFE/RL. Navalny’s posts “rose to the level of hate speech,” Amnesty’s media manager for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Aleksandr Artemyev, told the Russian-language media outlet Mediazona, RFE/RL reported.
Navalny is currently serving three and a half years in Russian prison for violating his parole by seeking treatment for a poisoning outside of Russia. (RELATED: Agents Poisoned Russian Opposition Leader Through His Underpants, Security Officer Tricked Into Confirming)
In the past, Navalny has come under criticism for his association with ethnic Russian nationalists and for statements seen as racist. https://t.co/7NvvH1F79s
— Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (@RFERL) February 23, 2021
Amnesty International did not reveal the content of Navalny’s social media posts, although Artemyev said that their release “appears to be another tactic to delegitimize Navalny’s work,” RFE/RL reported. The organization told RFE/RL that it would continue to call “for the Russian authorities to cease this politically motivated prosecution.”
Amnesty International did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.
Navalny is currently being held in the Soviet-era Matrosskaya Tishina prison, according to Reuters.
His imprisonment has drawn criticism both inside and outside of Russia. President Joe Biden requested Navalny’s release in his first phone call with Putin, and thousands of Russians were arrested in Jan. while protesting for the opposition leader’s release.