Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been jailed for 15 days for resisting police orders during mass protests on Sunday. Mr Navalny was one of hundreds of people who were detained across the country in connection with the rallies.
Th e court in Moscow earlier fi ned him the minimum 20,000 roubles ($350) for organising the banned protests. On Monday the Kremlin accused the opposition of encouraging lawbreaking and provoking violence. Some young people were paid to attend, a presidential spokesman said. Mr Navalny later repeated accusations of corruption against Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Th e allegations were the main reason behind Sunday’s protests, which drew thousands of demonstrators nationwide, including in St Petersburg, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Tomsk and several other cities, as well as Moscow.
Mr Navalny appeared in court after being detained on Sunday and spending the night in jail. Although he escaped a jail sentence on the fi rst charge, he was given 15 days for disobeying a police offi cer. Mr Navalny’s lawyer, Olga Mikhailova, told Reuters news agency she had expected such a verdict and would appeal against it. Before his appearance on Monday, Mr Navalny, 40, tweeted from the building: “Hello everyone from Tverskoy Court.
Th e time will come when we will have them on trial (only honestly).” He argued it was Mr Medvedev who should be summoned as the chief organiser of the protests, because his “corrupt activities led to people coming on to the streets of 99 Russian cities”. Mr Navalny, denying all the charges, said: “Th ey haven’t heard witnesses, nor have they satisfi ed any of our requests. Even the slightest semblance of justice is totally absent here.” He also said again that he plans to run for president in 2018.
