Moscow orders Navalny probe to be re-opened

Russia’s chief investigator has ordered a review of an inquiry into opposition leader Alexei Navalny, raising the pressure on those leading protests against president Vladimir Putin.

The Investigative Committee probed Mr Navalny’s alleged embezzlement at a state-owned timber company in the Kirov region, but the case was closed in May.

At a assembly of investigators from all over the country, Alexander Bastrykin, head of the committee, chided the Kirov chief investigator for closing the probe without informing his Moscow bosses. “You had a criminal case against this man and you quietly closed it,” he said. “There’s no forgiving and no mercy for things like this.”

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Investigators looked into reports that Mr Navalny, while an aide to the Kirov governor, Nikita Belykh, in 2007, could have pushed through decisions at the KirovLes timber company that cost it £20,000 in damages.

Mr Navalny has dismissed the accusations as ridiculous and said Mr Bastrykin’s outburst could have been a reaction to his petition to the Investigative Committee to probe Mr Bastrykin’s alleged threats to kill an investigative reporter.