Pussy Riot Member Arrested During Protests For Putin Critic Alexey Navalny

Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner, tweeted his intention to break his house arrest and join protesters after he was found guilty of fraud charges and handed a suspended sentence of three and a half years. About 20 people were arrested in overnight Moscow protests, including a member of Pussy Riot.

What We Know So Far

  • Opposition leader Alexey Navalny was detained by Russian police Tuesday evening, shortly after breaking house arrest to join protesters in central Moscow.
  • Hundreds of protesters gathered in Manezh Square in bitterly cold temperatures, with police making many arrests.
  • Demonstrators were angry that a Moscow court sent Navalny's brother Oleg to jail for three-and-a-half years on trumped-up fraud charges. Navalny himself was given a suspended sentence for the same amount of time.
  • About 20 people were arrested, including Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina, the Guardian reported.

Updates

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Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina was arrested along with about 20 other activists in Moscow in the overnight protests, the Guardian reported.

The Guardian reported:

A small group of activists including Alyokhina, and the anti-Putin blogger Arseny Bobrovsky, took refuge in a giant Christmas ball on Moscow's Manezh Square, directly in front of the Kremlin. Despite freezing conditions they spent the night inside. They held up banners saying that they would "occupy the globe" until Oleg Navalny was freed.

At 8am Moscow time, the police moved in and arrested those inside. "They came from two directions, took everyone's documents, and then literally used their arms to drag us out," Alyokhina told the news portal Mediazona. . She added: "I consider all those who came out and spent the night in the ball to be heroes. It was -20C."

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Wall Street Journal reporter Aleksander Kolyandr has now been released from police detention.

WSJ-journo @kolyandr released again. Hurray.

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More photos have emerged of the moment Navalny was detained by officers and placed in a police van.

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More than 130 people have been arrested so far in Tuesday's unsanctioned protest, according to the independent news site OVDInfo.org

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Navalny, home after being detained at the protest, says 5 riot police are outside his door to stop him going back. https://t.co/JYo1ry4zKt

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Kolyandr had just contributed to a report for the Wall Street Journal on the re-arrest of Alexey Navalny.

Detained at rally just outside Ritz. Passport, accreditation taken away

Passport, press card returned. Still inside the police bus

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Journalist Olaf Koens said on Twitter that the Wall Street Journal's repoprter Alexander Kolyandr was among those detained by police.

My esteemed colleague @kolyandr just got arrested for some reason. He's an accredited journalist. Shame.

Journalist Olaf Koens said on Twitter that the Wall Street Journal's repoprter Alexander Kolyandr was among those detained by police.

My esteemed colleague @kolyandr just got arrested for some reason. He's an accredited journalist. Shame.

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Several more people were filmed being arrested and detained in police vans.

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Police sources have told the Russian news agency Interfax that they are driving Navalny home, after he violated his house arrest to attend the anti-government protests.

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Another former Russian political prisoner and prominent Putin critic, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, tweeted his support to Navalny:

Нет смысла говорить о законе,когда нет легитимной Думы,нет независимого суда.Время поступать просто правильно.Алексей сделал моральный выбор

"There's no point talking about the law when there isn't a legitimate Duma [Russian Parliament], there isn't an independent court. It's right that it's the time to simply act. Alexey made a moral choice," Khodorkovsky wrote.

Khodorkovsky has been based in Zurich, Switzerland, since he was released from prison last year.

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"I didn't make it to Manezhka. This doesn't mean that you can't do it. I call on everyone not to leave on their own. They can't arrest everyone," Navalny tweeted, shortly after being detained in a police van.

До Манежки я не дошел. Но это не значит, что вы не сможете это сделать. Я призываю всех не уходить самим. Всех не арестуешь

"That they arrested me means one thing — among those who remain, they'll detain one less," he tweeted.

То, что задержали меня значит одно - среди оставшихся задержат на одного меньше.

"That they detained me means nothing. I can't do anything that you can't do."

То что меня задержали не означает вообще ничего. Я не умею делать ничего такого, что не умеете делать вы.

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Just moments after his defiant comments, Navalny could be seen being detained by police and thrown into a large van, amid screams and a jostling crowd.

#Navalny has just been grabbed by the police. Taken into a police van to cries from supporters in #Moscow #Манежка

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"I don't know how long I'll be here. I won't leave on my own," Navalny said, as he was shown on a live stream walking in Moscow to the protests.

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"Look who I found," this tweet reads, showing Navalny on the streets of Moscow.

Смотрите кого встретил

Navalny was also spotted by a photographer from the opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

кого я вижу у мэрии

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You can watch some live streams of the protests at Manezh Square here:

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com
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Protesters have begun gathering in Manezh Square amid bitterly cold temperatures of 1 degree Fahrenheit (-17 degrees Celsius).

25m to go and maybe 1000 people are at manezh anti-putin protest

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Alexey Navalny has indicated on Twitter that he is breaking his house arrest to attend the scheduled protest, meaning he is likely to be arrested.

“House arrest is something, but today I really want to be with you. So I’m also going #Manezhka,” the tweet reads.

Домашний арест-это да, но сегодня мне очень хочется быть с вами. Поэтому я тоже еду. #Манежка

Alexey @navalny's house is not close to the Moscow city centre, so he is still going))

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