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- Written by Sarah Rainsford
- Eastern Europe correspondent
image source, Ivan Zhdanov
Leonid Volkov was beaten with a hammer and pepper sprayed.
A longtime ally of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was attacked in front of his home in Lithuania.
Navalny’s press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, said Leonid Volkov was assaulted with a hammer and tear gas in his car in Vilnius on Tuesday night.
The alleged attacker is unknown and his motive is unknown.
Reuters said Lithuanian police had been informed of the incident and are investigating.
Ivan Zhdanov, another member of Navalny’s team, posted a photo on social media of Volkov with blood on his lower left leg and what appeared to be a bruise on his temple.
Asked if the assailant had shouted anything, Zhdanov said: “Everything happened in silence.”
“Of course, this is a clear political attack, there is no doubt about it.”
Volkov’s wife said he returned home from the hospital with a broken hand or arm, adding that he was unable to walk because he was hit in the leg with a hammer.
“We all work harder. And with even more anger,” she posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Mr. Volkov, who had been living outside Russia for several years for his own safety and served as Mr. Navalny’s chief of staff, was sentenced last month to a 19-year prison sentence after the opposition leader was found guilty of: He served as Navalny’s chief of staff until his sudden death in a prison in Russia’s Arctic. It was politically motivated.
Volkov, 43, also faces a variety of politically motivated charges in Russia.
Until last year, he was chairman of Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation, but resigned after it was revealed that he had signed a letter asking the European Union to lift some sanctions against Russia.
Despite living outside Russia, he worked to ensure that Navalny and his team continued their work.
This includes YouTube videos and livestreams during anti-corruption investigations, protests and major events in Russia.
More activists moved to join Volkov abroad in 2021, after Navalny’s entire political organization was labeled “extremist” and banned in Russia.
Several members of Mr. Navalny’s former team and some of his lawyers are currently in prison.
This was an idea that Alexei Navalny supported during his lifetime.
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