Russia investigating dissident Navalny on extremism charge

Russian authorities are investigating dissident Alexei Navalny on an extremism charge stemming from an interview earlier this year in which he suggested that the government should be violently overthrown, state media reported on Tuesday.

Investigators believe that during the April 27 interview with the radio station Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow), Navalny made a direct threat against Russia's constitutional order, state news agency TASS reported, citing an undisclosed source in law enforcement.

During the interview, Navalny accused the government of not doing enough to support low-income individuals, especially those without officially reported salaries.

Navalny said that "if they want to leave 60 million people hungry, then such a government should be overthrown right now completely, possibly even through violent means," according to a transcript on the broadcaster's website.

The extremism charge is punishable by up to five years in prison. Navalny said in a statement on Tuesday that the charge had been trumped up to prevent him from returning to Russia.

Navalny, 44, was evacuated to Berlin from a Russian hospital in August after he fell violently ill following a campaign trip to Siberia. Laboratories in Germany, France and Sweden have determined he was poisoned with the chemical weapon Novichok.

"Putin, sitting in his bunker, does not want me to return to Russia after my recovery, so much that in addition to threatening to send me to prison for treason against the motherland he has decided to include a criminal case for extremism," Navalny said on Tuesday.