The committee of ministers of pan-European rights body the Council of Europe on Thursday said it strongly urged Russia to "immediately" release jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in line with a previous ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.
The committee, which oversees the implementation of ECHR rulings, expressed "its grave concern" that Navalny "remains in detention and his conviction stands", the Council of Europe said.
The ECHR had in February ordered Russia to release Navalny after he was jailed on his return from Germany where he had been convalescing following a poisoning attack in Siberia that he blamed on the Kremlin.
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