<p>President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny ignored Russian law when he went to Germany for treatment after a near-fatal poisoning attack last year.</p>.<p>Navalny, a longtime anti-corruption and political campaigner, was arrested in January after he returned to Russia following months of treatment in Germany for a nerve agent poisoning he blames on the Kremlin.</p>.<p>"This person knew that he was breaking the law in Russia," Putin said after a summit meeting with US President Joe Biden in Geneva, in reference to Navalny violating the conditions of a suspended sentence.</p>.<p>"Consciously ignoring the requirements of the law, he went abroad for treatment," Putin said, accusing Navalny of having "deliberately acted to be detained".</p>.<p>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/vladimir-putin-says-us-russia-summit-constructive-998245.html" target="_blank"><strong>Vladimir Putin says US-Russia summit 'constructive'</strong></a></p>.<p>Navalny was subsequently jailed for two-and-a-half years on old fraud charges and his organisations banned as "extremist", barring members and sponsors from running in parliamentary elections in September.</p>.<p>Putin said Navalny's anti-graft group "publicly called for riots, involved minors in riots" and "publicly described how to make Molotov cocktails".</p>.<p>Russian authorities have also piled pressure this year on independent media, with several outlets declared "foreign agents" and US-funded Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe facing a flurry of large fines.</p>.<p>Putin has in turn accused Washington of "double standards" and of seeking to interfere in Russian domestic affairs.</p>.<p>He defended protesters who stormed the US Capitol, saying they had legitimate political demands, and said he would not be lectured on human rights by Washington.</p>
<p>President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny ignored Russian law when he went to Germany for treatment after a near-fatal poisoning attack last year.</p>.<p>Navalny, a longtime anti-corruption and political campaigner, was arrested in January after he returned to Russia following months of treatment in Germany for a nerve agent poisoning he blames on the Kremlin.</p>.<p>"This person knew that he was breaking the law in Russia," Putin said after a summit meeting with US President Joe Biden in Geneva, in reference to Navalny violating the conditions of a suspended sentence.</p>.<p>"Consciously ignoring the requirements of the law, he went abroad for treatment," Putin said, accusing Navalny of having "deliberately acted to be detained".</p>.<p>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/vladimir-putin-says-us-russia-summit-constructive-998245.html" target="_blank"><strong>Vladimir Putin says US-Russia summit 'constructive'</strong></a></p>.<p>Navalny was subsequently jailed for two-and-a-half years on old fraud charges and his organisations banned as "extremist", barring members and sponsors from running in parliamentary elections in September.</p>.<p>Putin said Navalny's anti-graft group "publicly called for riots, involved minors in riots" and "publicly described how to make Molotov cocktails".</p>.<p>Russian authorities have also piled pressure this year on independent media, with several outlets declared "foreign agents" and US-funded Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe facing a flurry of large fines.</p>.<p>Putin has in turn accused Washington of "double standards" and of seeking to interfere in Russian domestic affairs.</p>.<p>He defended protesters who stormed the US Capitol, saying they had legitimate political demands, and said he would not be lectured on human rights by Washington.</p>