An ally of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was detained on Saturday on charges of inciting extremism online.
Pavel Zelensky, a member of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, was ordered to go to prison through the Presnensky district a day before Navalny is expected to return to Russia after being poisoned in August and fleeing to Germany for treatment.
The court told Reuters in a statement that Zelensky had been jailed, and his detention had been confirmed by Ivan Zhdanov, director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation.
‘[We] will not give up and will help Pasha Zelensky’s family in every possible way, ”said Zhdanov. tweeted.
The Anti-Corruption Foundation, a leading opposition group in Moscow, is working to investigate government intervention.
Zelensky’s case apparently revolves around a photo he tweeted of Irina Slavina, a Russian journalist who set herself on fire in front of the Interior Ministry after police searched her apartment. Zelensky urged protesters to take to the streets after her death.
The arrest comes at a high point in the tug of war between the opposition and the Russian president Vladimir Putin
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Navalny announced last week that he plans to return to Russia on January 17 after being poisoned in an attack generally ordered by the Kremlin. The Russian prison agency warned this week that Navalny could be arrested immediately upon his return to Russia, although such an action could eventually lead to more violent protests and cause the opposition leader to make lions in the eyes of his followers and Western supporters.