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Amnesty International Revokes Kremlin Critic Navalny's 'Prisoner of Conscience' Status

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny attends a hearing to consider an appeal against an earlier court decision to change his suspended sentence to a real prison term, in Moscow, Russia February 20, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny attends a hearing to consider an appeal against an earlier court decision to change his suspended sentence to a real prison term, in Moscow, Russia February 20, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
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Amnesty International Revokes Kremlin Critic Navalny's 'Prisoner of Conscience' Status

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny attends a hearing to consider an appeal against an earlier court decision to change his suspended sentence to a real prison term, in Moscow, Russia February 20, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny attends a hearing to consider an appeal against an earlier court decision to change his suspended sentence to a real prison term, in Moscow, Russia February 20, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

Amnesty International no longer considers jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny a "prisoner of conscience" due to past comments he made that qualify as advocacy of hatred, the group said.

Amnesty, however, still believes that Navalny should be freed from jail, that he has committed no crime, and that he is being persecuted for his campaigning and outspoken criticism of President Vladimir Putin and his government, it said.

The 44-year-old Russian opposition politician was flown to Germany last August to recover from a near-fatal poisoning in Siberia with what many Western nations said was a nerve agent.

He was arrested on his return to Russia last month and sentenced to jail for parole violations he called trumped up. He is set to spend just over two-and-a-half years behind bars. The West has demanded his release; Russia says that is meddling.

"Amnesty International took an internal decision to stop referring to ... Navalny as a prisoner of conscience in relation to comments he made in the past," the group said in a statement sent to Reuters on Wednesday.

"Some of these comments, which Navalny has not publicly denounced, reach the threshold of advocacy of hatred, and this is at odds with Amnesty's definition of a prisoner of conscience," it added.

Amnesty, which had named Navalny a "prisoner of conscience" on Jan. 17 after his arrest, did not specify which comments it was referring to and said it was not aware of similar pronouncements made by him in recent years.

Navalny, who has carved out a following campaigning against official corruption, has been criticized for past nationalist statements against illegal immigration and for attending an annual nationalist march several years ago.

In a 2007 video, he called for the deportation of migrants to prevent the rise of far-right violence. "We have a right to be (ethnic) Russians in Russia. And we'll defend that right," he said in the video.

Navalny could not be reached for comment as he was in jail. His allies protested the move by Amnesty on Twitter.

Alexander Golovach, a lawyer for Navalny's FBK anticorruption group, said he was renouncing an earlier "prisoner of conscience" status that Amnesty gave him in 2018 to protest.

Ivan Zhdanov, a Navalny ally, said: "the procedure for assigning and revoking Amnesty International status has proven extremely shameful."

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World

US Army Orders Military Police to Get Ready for a Possible Minneapolis Deployment

Federal agents patrol a street, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
Federal agents patrol a street, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
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US Army Orders Military Police to Get Ready for a Possible Minneapolis Deployment

Federal agents patrol a street, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
Federal agents patrol a street, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

 

The US Army has ordered several dozen additional active-duty soldiers to prepare for a possible deployment to Minneapolis if needed, a defense official said Wednesday, amid protests over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown.

The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, confirmed that members of an Army military police brigade who are stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina have been given prepare-to-deploy orders.

Clashes in Minneapolis (AP)

If deployed, the troops would likely offer support to civil authorities in Minneapolis, according to the official, who stressed that such standby orders are issued regularly and they do not necessarily mean that the troops would end up going, The Associated Press said.

About 1,500 active-duty soldiers from the Army’s 11th Airborne Division based in Alaska also have received similar standby orders. President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used 19th century law that would allow him to use active-duty troops as law enforcement.

A person demonstrates during protests against President Donald Trump's administration's crackdown on immigration laws (AP)

That threat followed protests that erupted in Minneapolis after a federal immigration officer killed resident Renee Good on Jan. 7. Trump quickly appeared to walk back the threat, telling reporters a day later that there wasn’t a reason to use the act “right now.”

“If I needed it, I’d use it,” Trump said. “It’s very powerful.”

A teenage girl was arrested on Blaisdell Avenue after colliding with a Border Patrol vehicle (AFP)

When asked about the latest orders, which were reported earlier by MS Now, the Pentagon said it didn't have information to provide at this time.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat and frequent target of Trump, has urged the president to refrain from sending in more troops and, in a statement Tuesday, invited him to visit Minnesota and “help restore calm and order and reaffirm that true public safety comes from shared purpose, trust, and respect.”

A person is detained after a confrontation with Border Patrol while arresting teenagers in Minneapolis (AFP)

In his second term, Trump has pushed traditional boundaries by using troops in American cities, often over the objections of local officials, amid federal operations targeting illegal immigration and crime.

Patrols on a street in Minneapolis (AP)

Trump deployed federalized National Guard troops to Los Angeles last June after protesters took to the streets in response to a blitz of immigration arrests. Ultimately, he sent about 4,000 Guard members and 700 active-duty Marines to guard federal buildings and, later, to protect federal agents as they carried out immigration arrests.

A member of the Border Patrol sprays pepper spray on protesters on Blaisdell Avenue in Minneapolis (AFP)

He also mobilized Guard troops in places like Chicago and Portland, Oregon, but has faced a series of legal setbacks. Trump said in December that he was dropping that push for the time being.

World

Nigeria: Several Soldiers Killed in ISIS Attack in Borno

Residents inspect the damage after US forces had launched a strike against ISIS militants in Nigeria at the request of Nigeria's government in Offa, Kwara State, Nigeria, December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Abdullahi Dare Akogun/File Photo 
Residents inspect the damage after US forces had launched a strike against ISIS militants in Nigeria at the request of Nigeria's government in Offa, Kwara State, Nigeria, December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Abdullahi Dare Akogun/File Photo 
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Nigeria: Several Soldiers Killed in ISIS Attack in Borno

Residents inspect the damage after US forces had launched a strike against ISIS militants in Nigeria at the request of Nigeria's government in Offa, Kwara State, Nigeria, December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Abdullahi Dare Akogun/File Photo 
Residents inspect the damage after US forces had launched a strike against ISIS militants in Nigeria at the request of Nigeria's government in Offa, Kwara State, Nigeria, December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Abdullahi Dare Akogun/File Photo 

Several soldiers were killed in a suicide car bomb attack during a military operation against ISIS positions in the Timbuktu Triangle area of Borno State, a longstanding terrorist stronghold in northeastern Nigeria.

The military said soldiers clashed with fleeing terrorists during an offensive to flush out insurgents in the Borno State.

The Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, Lt Col Sani Uba said in a statement on Wednesday that army troops had cleared several terrorist strongholds in the Timbuktu Triangle, including Tergejeri, Chiralia, and the Ajigin/Abirma general areas.

He said several soldiers were killed after they engaged with fleeing terrorist elements in a heavy gun battle.

“On Tuesday, while the soldiers gathered at an area approximately 6 km North of Chilaria, they neutralized one explosive‑laden vehicle but a second breached defensive positions, killing several soldiers and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force and injuring others,” Uba said in the statement.

He added that during the operation, his troops found the bodies of 20 terrorists in a mass grave in Timbuktu Triangle in Borno.

“The mass grave highlights the scale of losses suffered by terrorists,” Uba said.

In a separate development, five soldiers and one police officer have been killed in an ambush in northwest Nigeria, the Nigerian army said on Tuesday.

The attack occurred in Zamfara state on Monday, army spokesman David Adewusi said in a statement.

“Despite the surprise of the ambush, the troops responded gallantly, engaging the terrorists and preventing further harm to nearby communities,” he said. “Regrettably, five soldiers and one police officer paid the supreme sacrifice during the encounter.”

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with a population exceeding 250 million, is the continent’s largest oil producer and a key OPEC member.

The Timbuktu Triangle, a vast and difficult‑to‑access area spanning parts of Borno State, has for more than a decade served as a base for Boko Haram fighters launching coordinated attacks on military positions and civilian communities.

Boko Haram, an extremist group that emerged in northeastern Nigeria in 2009, has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions across Nigeria and neighboring countries.

Despite repeated military offensives, Boko Haram and its splinter groups have continued to mount large‑scale attacks, exploiting difficult terrain, porous regional borders and a limited state presence in parts of the arid northeast.

World

Danish Leader Says Her Country Can't Negotiate on Sovereignty and She's Told that Wasn't the Case

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen speaks at a press conference along with Chairman of Naalakkersuisut, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen as they make a statement about the current situation, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Prime Minister's Office in Copenhagen, Denmark, January 13, 2026. Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen speaks at a press conference along with Chairman of Naalakkersuisut, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen as they make a statement about the current situation, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Prime Minister's Office in Copenhagen, Denmark, January 13, 2026. Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS
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Danish Leader Says Her Country Can't Negotiate on Sovereignty and She's Told that Wasn't the Case

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen speaks at a press conference along with Chairman of Naalakkersuisut, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen as they make a statement about the current situation, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Prime Minister's Office in Copenhagen, Denmark, January 13, 2026. Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen speaks at a press conference along with Chairman of Naalakkersuisut, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen as they make a statement about the current situation, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Prime Minister's Office in Copenhagen, Denmark, January 13, 2026. Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS

Denmark’s prime minister insisted that her country can’t negotiate on its sovereignty on Thursday after US President Donald Trump said he agreed a “framework of a future deal” on Arctic security with the head of NATO, and she has been “informed that this has not been the case.”

Trump on Wednesday abruptly scrapped the tariffs he had threatened to impose on eight European nations to press for US control over Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark. It was a dramatic reversal shortly after he insisted he wanted to get the island “including right, title and ownership.”

He said “additional discussions” on Greenland were being held concerning the Golden Dome missile defense program, a multilayered, $175 billion system that for the first time will put US weapons in space. Trump offered few details, saying they were still being worked out, The Associated Press reported.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement that security in the Arctic is a matter for all of NATO, and it is “good and natural” that it be discussed between the US president and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. She said that she had spoken with Rutte “on an ongoing basis,” including before and after he met Trump in Davos.

She wrote that NATO is fully aware of Denmark's position that anything political can be negotiated on, including security, investment and economic issues — “but we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty.”

“I have been informed that this has not been the case,” she said, adding that only Denmark and Greenland can make decisions on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland.

Frederiksen said that Denmark wants to continue engaging in constructive dialogue with allies on how to strengthen security in the Arctic, including the US Golden Dome program, “provided that this is done with respect for our territorial integrity.”