Moscow: Two of Russia’s most prominent opposition leaders were sentenced on Thursday to 15 days in jail, while several dozen opposition activists who tried to stage a “people’s stroll” through the city reportedly were detained.
The sentencing of Sergei Udaltsov and Alexei Navalny came after several days of attempts by opposition activists to hold unauthorized protests against Vladimir Putin, who was inaugurated for a third term as Russian president on Monday.
Udaltsov and Navalny were detained Sunday when participants in an authorized protest march tried to veer from their sanctioned route and head to the Kremlin. They were released after a few hours, but detained again on Wednesday in another unauthorized demonstration. Navalny was released early on Thursday, then detained again a few hours later at another opposition gathering.
Both were sentenced for failing to obey police orders. Separately, the state news agency RIA Novosti cited an unidentified law enforcement official as saying dozens of people were detained on Thursday afternoon on Manezh Square adjacent to the Kremlin. According to the report, opposition supporters wearing trademark white ribbons had earlier taken part in a rally by the Communist Party marking the Victory Day holiday, then tried to stage the so-called “people’s stroll.” (AP)
