Navalny’s Arrest and the West More than rhetorical protests will be needed to get Putin’s attention.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/navalnys-arrest-and-the-west-11611000490?mod=opinion_lead_pos3
Russian authorities detained opposition leader Alexei Navalny upon his return to Moscow over the weekend, five months after he survived an assassination attempt in Siberia. His personal courage is as notable as Vladimir Putin’s fear of his appeal.
Mr. Navalny, Mr. Putin’s most effective domestic critic, fell into a coma in August after being poisoned with a chemical nerve-agent of the Novichok group. Last month Mr. Navalny and investigative outlet Bellingcat presented compelling evidence tying the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to the poisoning.
The dissident spent several months convalescing in Berlin, and he could have remained safe outside Russia. But he returned aware that the country’s penitentiary service recently had accused him of fraud and parole violations. On Monday a court ordered that he be held for 30 days, but given Russia’s lawlessness he could remain behind bars for years.
“I know that the criminal cases against me are fabricated,” he said shortly before being taken into custody. He has since called for mass protests. “I’m not afraid of anything and call on you not to fear anything.”
Mr. Putin and his cronies certainly fear him. Mr. Navalny built a national following by exposing high-level corruption, and this isn’t the first time he’s been arrested on dubious charges. Thousands waited to greet him but his flight was diverted to another airport.
“Mr. Navalny should be immediately released, and the perpetrators of the outrageous attack on his life must be held accountable,” tweeted Jake Sullivan, who is Joe Biden’s national security adviser. Several European leaders issued similar statements, and we hope Mr. Biden also condemns the arrest. That would be an easy contrast with President Trump, who has hesitated to criticize Mr. Putin.
But rhetoric isn’t enough. Mr. Biden has promised to revive the trans-Atlantic relationship, which is a hard pledge to define. One measure would be convincing Germany, the de facto leader of Europe, to pull out of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia. If that’s too hard, how about getting the European Union to sign up for extensive, joint economic sanctions with the U.S.?
Mr. Navalny’s arrest shows that Mr. Putin doesn’t fear the West’s rhetorical protests. Causing him and his friends real economic pain is a different matter.
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