Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny announced today that he had been briefly detained by police in Moscow, less than a month before the presidential election. "I had a toothache, I went to the dentist. "I came out of the dentist: good morning, second police brigade, you are being arrested," he wrote on Twitter, adding "they are taking me somewhere".
Less than an hour after the announcement of his arrest, Alexei Navalny said he had been released. "I was suggested to leave me somewhere. I refused and went to work. "I do not understand what happened and why seven people arrested me," he wrote on Twitter. Navalny, who was taken to a police station, said he had been charged with "repeatedly violating" the law on demonstrations, a violation that carries a 30-day prison sentence.
The last time Alexei Navalny was briefly detained was on January 28, during a nationwide rally to denounce the "fraud" of the presidential election, which is expected to be won by Vladimir Putin securing a fourth term. .
He was released on the same day, a "fraudulent strategy", in order to be sentenced to a date closer to the date of the elections, according to him. "If I am released on January 28, I will be released on February 28. "Putin wants me to be isolated just before the election and, if possible, during the election," he wrote at the time.
Police later charged him with using force against law enforcement during his detention, which he denies. Navalny, who is barred from running for office by the Kremlin, has called on his supporters to abstain and monitor the presidential election. Alexei Navalny also announced on Twitter that his right hand man, Leonid Volkov, had been arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.
"Volkov was arrested in Sheremetyevo, he was going to fly to Baskiria, one of the most important areas in terms of organizing election observation," he said on March 18. Roman Rubanov, who is close to Alexei Navalny, was sentenced yesterday to 10 days in prison for participating in the January 28 demonstration.