Detained ally of Putin critic released

MOSCOW — A top associate of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was released from detention Sunday and said she was charged with trespassing after ringing the doorbell of an alleged security operative who inadvertently revealed details of Navalny’s supposed poisoning with a Soviet-era nerve agent.

Lyubov Sobol, a key figure in Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, was detained for 48 hours on Friday after a day of interrogation. The move followed Sobol’s attempt earlier last week to reach the alleged operative in his Moscow apartment whom Navalny had previously duped into revealing details of his alleged poisoning.

Sobol and her allies denied the accusations and maintained that she violated no law by ringing the doorbell to the apartment. While Sobol was being questioned, the state Investigative Committee issued a statement accusing her of violent trespassing — criminal charges that carry a sentence of up to two years in prison.

Shortly after her release from detention Sunday, Sobol told reporters she has been formally charged and insisted the case against her was “revenge” on Navalny.

Last week, Navalny, a leading critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, released the recording of a phone call he said he made to a man he identified as Konstantin Kudryavtsev and described as an alleged member of a group of officers of the Federal Security Service who purportedly poisoned him with the Soviet-era Novichok agent in August and then tried to cover it up.