Russian protest leader jailed for 15 days over resisting police orders
Protesters take to streets to demonstrate against corruption
opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been jailed for 15 days for resisting police orders.
A court in Moscow issued the ruling after Navalny was detained on Sunday as he made his way to a massive protest in the Russian capital.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Russia on Sunday in what were largely unauthorised demonstrations against government corruption.
Navalny and his associates organised the protests, which were the biggest show of defiance in Russia since the 20112012 anti-government demonstrations.
Journalists and well-wishers packed the courtroom in central Moscow where Navalny was dealt with.
He posted a selfie on Twitter from the court, saying: “A time will come when we’ll put them on trial too – and that time it will be fair.”
The 40-year-old, Russia’s most popular opposition leader, has been twice convicted on fraud and embezzlement charges which he has dismissed as politically motivated.
Navalny, who is currently serving a suspended sentence over those convictions, has also announced he is seeking to run in Russia’s 2018 presidential election.
Complaining about the judge striking down one motion after another, Navalny said: “Even the slightest illusion of fair justice is absent here.
“Yesterday’s events have shown that quite a large number of voters in Russia support the programme of a candidate who stands for fighting corruption.
“These people demand political representation – and I strive to be their political representative.”
The Kremlin has dismissed the opposition as a Westernised urban elite disconnectrussian ed from the issues faced by the poor in Russia’s far-flung regions.
However, Sunday’s protests included demonstrations in areas which typically produce a high vote for Russian president Vladimir Putin, from the far western city of Chita in Siberia to southern Dagestan’s capital of Makhachkala.
Russian police say about 500 people were arrested in the protests, but a human rights group published a list of detainees containing more than 1,000 names. Yesterday, the European Union called on Russian authorities to release the demonstrators.
Mr Putin’s spokesman chided the organisers for inciting illegal acts.
“The Kremlin respects people’s civic stance and their right to voice their position,” Dmitry Peskov said.
“We can’t express the same respect to those who consciously misled people and who consciously did it yesterday and provoked illegal actions.”
Mr Peskov defended the Rus- sian police in riot gear who were seen manhandling protesters, some of whom were minors, calling their response “highly professional and lawful”. He also claimed that under-age protesters in Moscow had been promised cash if they were arrested.
Asked about the Kremlin’s reaction to the wide geography of the protests, Mr Peskov said: “The Kremlin is quite sober about the scale of yesterday’s protests, and are not inclined to diminish them or push them out of proportion.”
Mr Putin “constantly talks to people” and is well-briefed on the sentiment in the country, Mr Peskov insisted.
Russian state television completely ignored the protests in their broadcasts on Sunday, and authorities did not comment on them in any way.
Over the years, Navalny, a lawyer, has evolved from a lone blogger to someone who leads a group of like-minded activists, the Anti-corruption Foundation.
Also yesterday, police arrested Navalny’s associates who were monitoring a webcast of the Moscow rally.