Alexei Navalny released and immediately detained
September 24, 2018
Russian police detained opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Monday, as soon he had left jail after serving 30 days for a previous offence.
"They opened the door – and just put him on the bus immediately," said his aide Leonid Volkov on Twitter.
DW's Russian service tweeted the video of the moment.
The charge, according to Volkov, is the violation of a protest law resulting in damage to property or harm to human health. The maximum sentence is 20 days.
"This is an exotic article of law, I don't remember it ever being invoked," said Volkov, who serves as chief of Navalny's staff nationwide.
Jailed for calling for protests while in jail
The jail sentence Navalny had completed on Monday was over an unauthorized anti-government rally in January. While in jail, Navalny urged his supporters to come out against the unpopular pension reform on September 9, with the appeals being posted on his online accounts.
The Monday arrest is apparently linked with the September rally. A court ruling is expected later in the day.
Previously, Navalny said his stints in jail are aimed to keep him from leading protests against raising the retirement age. The protest movement is currently spearheaded by the Communist Party.
dj/rt (AFP, Reuters, Interfax)