The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has expressed concern about an arrest warrant issues by a court in Moscow for Yulia Navalnaya on charges of extremism.

The IBAHRI says that the widow of Alexei Navalny, a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is living in exile knowing that she will be detained if she returns to Russia.

Since the death of her husband, Navalnaya has denounced President Putin and his regime, stating that her husband had been ”tortured, starved, cut off, and killed” by Putin.

She was unable to attend her husband’s funeral in March 2024 due to fear of arrest.

‘Abuse’ of arrest warrants

In 2020, Navalny was hospitalised after being poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent.

The IBAHRI raised concerns about his poisoning in 2020 and condemned the arrest of his lawyers in October 2023.

In February, the organisation condemned Russia after Navalny died unexpectedly in prison while serving a 30-year sentence in freezing conditions.

IBAHRI co-chair Anne Ramberg described the arrest warrant against his widow as “another example of attempts by the Russian authorities to destroy any opposition or criticism of them, and to send a clear message that the status quo will not change”.

IBAHRI co-chair Mark Stephens stated: “The abuse of the issuance of arrest warrants is an increasingly common abuse perpetrated by autocratic states which have scant regard for the rule of law. We must be continuously vigilant against such abuses as in this case.”