The Russian authorities followed through on their threat to arrest opposition figure Alexey Navalny on Sunday, January 17, taking him into police custody after he landed at Vnukovo International Airport.

Prior to his arrival in Moscow, officials ordered journalists and supporters to avoid gathering at the airport because of coronavirus safety concerns. Before Navalny landed in Moscow with his wife, Yulia, police had already arrested several of his supporters and some of the journalists. The authorities have also deployed riot police to clear areas of the airport.

Navalny spent the last five months recovering in Germany from exposure to a nerve agent which is said to be a part of an assassination attempt by Russia’s Federal Security Service. While he was recovering in Berlin, Navalny technically violated the terms of his probation, leading federal prison officials in Russia to issue an arrest warrant against him. The penitentiary system now expects to see Navalny incarcerated under a reinstated sentence in the Yves Rocher case.

The Kremlin critic also faces multiple felony fraud charges related to money he and colleagues supposedly embezzled from his various nonprofit organizations. Navalny could go to prison in either case, depending on the decision made by the court.