NEWSWATCH: “Kremlin Critic Navalny Says Russia Stops Him Traveling Abroad” – Reuters
“Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said … authorities in Russia were stopping him [from] going abroad to seek urgent medical treatment after an attack that left him mostly blind in one eye. … authorities … unexpectedly issued … an international passport … [giving] the impression he could fly to a foreign clinic to get treatment …. But he said a senior official from the country’s prison service … phoned his lawyer … to say … Navalny could not travel abroad because of an embezzlement conviction …. Navalny says the conviction, which came with a 5-year suspended prison sentence, was politically-motivated and aimed at sabotaging his plans to run for president ….”
In March, Navalny organized Russia’s biggest anti-government protests in years. Navalny is expected to be Putin’s most prominent opposition challenger as Putin likely seeks yet another presidential term.