Kremlin says planned pro-Navalny nationwide protests illegal, work of ‘provocateurs’

Kremlin says planned pro-Navalny nationwide protests illegal, work of ‘provocateurs’
January 22, 2021, 10:11 am

File photo of police officers detaining a man at Moscow's Vnukovo airport where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was expected to arrive on January 17, 2021. (AFP)

The Kremlin said that nationwide protests planned for Saturday to call for the release of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny were illegal and were being promoted by people it called provocateurs.

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic, was detained at the weekend and later jailed for alleged parole violations after flying back to Russia for the first time since being poisoned by a military-grade nerve agent.

Navalny's spokeswoman jailed

Meanwhile, a Russian court jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s spokeswoman for nine days on Friday, meaning she cannot attend an opposition protest planned on Saturday to call for his release, she said on Twitter.

The spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, is one of several allies of Navalny who have been detained by police ahead of a planned protest that the Kremlin has said is illegal.

source: Reuters

Image source: AFP

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