Kremlin critic released from jail

pulse

April 10, 2017 3:56 PM

Police had moved Navalny to a different detention centre before releasing him, in an apparent attempt to avoid media coverage.

This handout picture obtained on April 10, from Leonid Volkov's Twitter account shows Alexei Navalny speaking with employees at the offices of his anti-corruption foundation in Moscow

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny walked free on Monday after spending 15 days in jail over a rally protesting against alleged massive corruption by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

The opposition leader and anti-corruption campaigner was arrested on March 26 at the largest unauthorised demonstration of recent years in Moscow and found guilty of disobeying police orders.

On Monday afternoon he was released at the appointed time, his campaign director Leonid Volkov told several dozen journalists waiting outside the detention centre where he had been held in northern Moscow.

"We're waiting for Alexei here but he called me and said they moved him to another police station in Konkovo (south Moscow) and released him precisely at 2:28 pm (1128 GMT) when his 15 days ran out," Volkov said.

The European Parliament had urged Russia to release Navalny and the others arrested at the Moscow protest and rallies held the same day in dozens of other Russian cities.

In Moscow, police in riot gear detained around 1,000 people, including a striking number of teenagers who grew up under Putin's rule.

Navalny has announced he intends to stand in 2018 presidential polls that Vladimir Putin is expected to contest for a fourth term.

The 40-year-old rose to fame with fiery speeches at mass protests over Putin's return to the Kremlin for a third term in 2012. He has harnessed the power of social media and YouTube to spread his message.

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