Russia's Navalny Flying Home after Poisoning

For the first time since he was almost killed by a nerve agent attack last year, Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is expected back in Moscow later on Sunday. 

He was seen on board a plane that left Berlin shortly after 14:30 GMT, reports BBC.

The activist argues that the authorities were behind the attack on his life, an accusation endorsed by investigative journalists but dismissed by the Kremlin.

Mr Navalny, 44 years old, faces detention when he returns from Germany. At the airport in Moscow, extra police have been deployed.

Inside the airport, metal barriers have been erected, Vnukovo, and Russian media claim that at least one activist was detained there.

Mr Navalny's press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, posted pictures of police cars at the airport on social media.

Mr Navalny - who had been treated in Germany - earlier appealed to supporters to meet him off the flight, and a "Let's meet Navalny" page has been set up on Facebook (in Russian). Thousands of people have said they will go or expressed an interest, despite forecasts of extreme cold.

After boarding his Pobeda airlines plane, the opposition politician said: "I'm sure that everything will be absolutely fine, I'm very happy today."

He also accused the Kremlin of encouraging people to go to Vnukovo to see a pop star, Olga Buzova, in a bid to squeeze out his supporters.

Last August, Mr. Navalny collapsed on an internal flight in Siberia, and later it appeared that he had been poisoned by a Novichok nerve agent.

The Russian authorities have consistently denied any poisoning involvement, and the Kremlin has dismissed Mr. Navalny's claims that it had been directed by President Vladimir Putin himself.

Putin's critic has said that he misses Moscow, that he has almost fully recovered from the attack, and that there has never been any doubt that he will return.

The Russian authorities warned Mr. Navalny that he could face imprisonment after missing the deadline for prison service in December to report to the Moscow office.

The prison service accuses him of violating conditions imposed after a conviction for embezzlement, for which he received a suspended sentence. He has always condemned the case as politically motivated.

Separately, Russia's investigative committee has launched a new criminal case against him on fraud charges related to transfers of money to various NGOs, including his Anti-Corruption Foundation.

Mr Navalny has asserted that Mr Putin is doing all he can to stop his opponent from coming back by fabricating new cases against him.

News media from around the world gathered at Berlin airport to record the activist's departure from Germany - but Russian federal TV channels and news agencies are ignoring his return.