An ally of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was arrested on Saturday on charges of inciting online extremism.
Pavel Zelensky, a member of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, was sentenced to prison by the Presnensky District Court the day before Navalny returned to Russia after being poisoned in August and fled to Germany for treatment.
The court said in a statement to Reuters that Zelensky was under arrest and his arrest was confirmed by Ivan Zhdanov, director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation.
“[We] will not give up and help Pasha Zelensky’s family in every way possible, ”Zhdanov tweeted.
The Anti-Corruption Foundation, a leading opposition group in Moscow, works to investigate government corruption.
Zelensky’s case revolves around a photo he tweeted of Irina Slavina, a Russian journalist who burned down in front of the Interior Ministry after police searched her apartment. Zelensky urged the protesters to take to the streets after his death.
The arrest takes place at a time of high risk in the tug of war between the opposition and the Russian president Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich PutinBill Burns knows Russia from the inside out – and that will be key to Biden The Hill Morning Report – Trump has been accused again; what now? Defense overnight: Trump is accused for the second time | National Guard on Capitol Hill now armed, increasing to 20,000 soldiers for inauguration | Alabama chosen for Space Command home MOREgovernment of.
Navalny announced last week that he plans to return to Russia on January 17, after being poisoned in an attack believed to have been ordered by the Kremlin. Russia’s prison agency warned this week that Navalny could be promptly arrested after his return to Russia, although such action could lead to more violent protests and make the opposition leader in the eyes of his Western followers and supporters.