YouTube Restores Navalny Investigative Video Blocked on Copyright Grounds

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Youtube on Monday restored a video of Alexey Navalny confronting an alleged FSB operative over his suspected poisoning, after geoblocking it over copyright infringement.

The video of the Russian opposition activist calling his alleged assassin had been viewed more than 27.6 million times when it was blocked "on copyright grounds" for containing content from ViacomCBS media company.

Navalny was taken in custody last month upon returning to Russia from Germany where he received medical treatment following a suspected poisoning in Siberia.

Germany has claimed that its health officials found evidence of poisoning — traces of a nerve agent from the Novichok group — in Navalny's organism. Russian authorities have rejected the findings and requested for the evidence to be shared with them but without success.

On 2 February, a Moscow court replaced Navalny’s suspended fraud sentence with 3.5 years in prison over probation breaches, prompting domestic and international protests. Russia urged the US and its allies to respect international laws and not interfere in the country's judicial process.