Ahead of Russian Presidential election opposition leader Navalny faces another jail term

NewsBharati    22-Feb-2018
Total Views |

Moscow, February 22: Less than a month ahead of Russian Presidential election, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detained by police on Thursday but then released a short while later. Navalny is already barred from contesting elections.

In recent years, he organized many big protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his confidants. Before releasing him, authorities charged him with an administrative violation of public assembly rules, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 30 days.

“They offered me a lift somewhere, but I declined and have gone to work. I don’t understand what happened, and why it took seven people to detain me,” he said. He is free until the trial and he does not know the exact timing of the trial.

Navalny’s campaign chief had been detained by police at Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow just before his detention. His supporters and he see the string of administrative and criminal charges against him as political framing.

Russia is hosting the presidential election on 18th March in which Navalny could be prime opposition. But since he is barred from contesting the election, Putin is expected a landslide win. However, Navalny has called for boycotting the election. Due to his unparallel popularity, the Kremlin fears an embarrassingly low turnout for the dull election.