MOSCOW, July 18 (RIA Novosti) – At least two protesters were briefly detained Thursday outside a court in the Russian city of Kirov following the conviction of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, while thousands more of his followers promised to turn out for unsanctioned anti-Kremlin rallies later in the day.
Navalny, a whistle-blowing blogger and one of Russia’s most prominent opposition protest leaders, was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday for embezzlement linked to the 2009 sale of timber belonging to the KirovLes company at below-market prices. His co-defendant in the trial, Pyotr Ofitserov, was sentenced to four years in jail.
At least two people were detained by police outside the court after a group of chanting pro-Navalny activists marched from the court building toward the detention center where Navalny was taken into custody, according to the grassroots Ovdinfo.org website, which monitors protest-related arrests. According to a regional police spokesman, the two men were released within three hours after they were officially accused of an administrative violation.
Human rights advocate Yevgeny Kokoulin told RIA Novosti that both men submitted written complaints to police that they had been pushed to the ground and handled roughly during the detention.
The guilty verdict against Navalny sparked outrage among his supporters, with over 10,000 signing up on social networks by late Thursday afternoon to attend an unauthorized demonstration just meters from Moscow's Kremlin walls and in other locations across the country.
The call for a mass demonstration in support of Navalny prompted Moscow riot police to cordon off the area around the city's downtown Manezh Square on Thursday afternoon. Dozens of police trucks were reported to be parked in nearby streets.
The city authorities have warned against any unsanctioned protest activity. “All attempts to hold any events will be regarded by the law enforcement authorities as unsanctioned,” City Hall’s security department head Alexei Mayorov told RIA Novosti, warning the police would break up any unauthorized rally.
Last year Russia raised the maximum fines for “violation of the established rules of conduct” at protests to 20,000 rubles ($616) from the previous 1,000 rubles ($30).
Updated with modified headline and additional information on detainees' release.
