Russia detains opposition leader

MOSCOW 28 Jan (ANA) - Russian police wrestled opposition leader Alexei Navalny into a patrol wagon moments after he appeared at a rally on Sunday to urge voters to boycott what he said would be a rigged presidential election in March.

Navalny has little chance of influencing the election, likely to be won comfortably by President Vladimir Putin, but his ability to use social media to mobilise crowds of mostly young protesters in major cities has irked the Kremlin.

The numbers who showed up at protests across Russia on Sunday -- some shouting “Putin is a thief” -- were lower than previous demonstrations Navalny had staged, according to estimates from Reuters reporters, indicating the momentum may have shifted away from him.

Video footage posted on social media showed Navalny appear on Moscow’s main thoroughfare, Tverskaya Street, a few hundred metres from the Kremlin, to join several hundred supporters taking part in the protest, which the authorities had said was illegal.

He had only walked a short distance when he was surrounded by police officers wearing helmets. They grabbed him and forced him to the ground on the pavement, and then dragged him feet first into the patrol wagon, the video footage showed.

Navalny’s personal Twitter feed carried a post to his followers saying he had been detained. “That does not matter. Come to Tverskaya. You’re not coming out for me, but for your future,” the post said.

He was taken to a police precinct in central Moscow, Navalny’s Internet site reported. Police said in a statement he would be charged with violating laws on holding demonstrations. The maximum penalty Navalny faces for the offence is 30 days in jail.(ANA)
FA/ANA/28 January 2018--------