22 Feb 2018 13:58

Police detain Navalny in Moscow - lawyer

MOSCOW. Feb 22 (Interfax) - Police have detained opposition politician Alexei Navalny in Moscow, Ivan Zhdanov, a lawyer for Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, told Interfax on Thursday.

"Navalny has been detained. Nothing else is clear yet," Zhdanov said.

Navalny himself said on a social network that he had been detained while leaving a dentist's office. "Had a toothache, went to the dentist's. While leaving the dentist's office: hello, 2nd Operational Regiment, you are detained. Driving me somewhere," Navalny said.

It was reported earlier that Leonid Volkov, the head of Navalny's headquarters, had been detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, from where he was planning to travel to Ufa to meet with supporters.

Roman Rubanov, the head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, was detained at the Sheremetyevo Airport on February 20. Police charged with an administrative offense. Moscow's Simonovsky District Court later found Rubanov guilty of organizing an unpermitted demonstration on January 28 and ordered a ten-day administrative arrest.