MOSCOW

The Russian Investigative Committee on Wednesday filed a new charge against Alexey Navalny, an opposition figure.

In a statement on its official website, the committee said Navalny and his associates pushed citizens to take part in demonstrations, knowing in advance about the “illegal nature” of the activities.

"Navalny was aware that administrative responsibility was provided for participation in uncoordinated rallies but continued persuading people to do it anyway," the committee said.

Such activities are punishable by up to three years in prison under the Russian Criminal Code.

Navalny was imprisoned for a parole violation in February. He was convicted in 2014 of fraud and embezzlement and was on six-year probation, requiring to report to police twice a month.

In 2020, after his alleged poisoning with a nerve agent, the condition to appear before the police were put on hold for the duration of his treatment in Germany.

According to the FSIN, after Navalny's treatment was over, he did not show up for more than three months and did not notify authorities about his whereabouts. He did not even provide any objective reasoning for his non-appearance, it said.

Upon his return to Russia on Jan. 17, Navalny was arrested at the airport, and his suspended sentence was replaced with a 2.5-year full custodial sentence.

The EU has imposed sanctions on four Russian high-ranking officials over Navalny’s arbitrary arrest, prosecution, and sentencing under its Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.