Navalny's spokesman jailed ahead of protest, for nine days
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Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's spokesman Kira Yarmysh entering the Savyolovsky district court prior to a hearing into her case in Moscow yesterday. She is one of several allies of Navalny who have been detained by police ahead of planned protests that the Kremlin has said are illegal.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
MOSCOW • A Russian court has sent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's spokesman to jail for nine days, meaning she cannot attend an opposition protest planned today to call for his release, she said on Twitter.
Spokesman Kira Yarmysh, 31, is one of several allies of Navalny who have been detained by police ahead of planned protests that the Kremlin has said are illegal.
Navalny's allies are planning to hold demonstrations today in dozens of cities in support of the Kremlin critic who was arrested and jailed on his return to Russia following a near-fatal poisoning with a nerve agent.
Several close Navalny associates, including prominent activist Lyubov Sobol and Yarmysh, were detained late on Thursday for calling on Russians to join the demonstrations and faced hefty fines and short jail stints.
Sobol, 33, is accused of repeatedly violating legislation on public gatherings, which carries a maximum fine of up to 300,000 roubles (S$5,315), her lawyer Vladimir Voronin told the Agence France-Presse.
Sobol, who has a small child, is not likely to be given jail time, Mr Voronin said.
But he cautioned that if she is found guilty, the authorities could later open a criminal probe against her.
Ahead of Yarmysh's arrest on Thursday, she recorded a video urging a large turnout today.
"Our future literally depends on the number of people who take to the streets," she said.
Prosecutors have warned Russians against taking to the streets during the coronavirus pandemic.
Last week, Navalny, 44, returned to Russia from Germany, where he had been recovering from a poisoning with the Novichok nerve agent in an attack he blamed on Russian security services and President Vladimir Putin.
After his arrest, he released an investigation into an opulent Black Sea property allegedly owned by Mr Putin. The two-hour video report had been viewed more than 53 million times since its release on Tuesday, becoming the Kremlin critic's most-watched YouTube investigation.
European Council chief Charles Michel yesterday demanded the "immediate release" of Navalny in a call with Mr Putin.
The EU had already condemned the attempt to assassinate Navalny and his arrest on his return to Russia after treatment, but Mr Michel has now expressed "grave concerns" directly to Mr Putin.
Mr Michel told the Kremlin chief that he would launch a "strategic debate" on EU-Russia relations when he convenes a summit of all 27 EU leaders in March.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
