|
Russia holds a presidential election in March which incumbent
Vladimir Putin is widely expected to contest. Navalny hopes to
run despite Russia's central election commission declaring him
ineligible because of a suspended prison sentence which he says
was politically-motivated.
Navalny said on social media on Friday that police had detained
him in the lobby of his apartment block and told him they wanted
to interview him at a police station.
The press service of Moscow's interior ministry was cited by the
TASS news agency as saying Navalny had been detained due to his
"repeated calls to take part in unsanctioned public events."
The authorities say opposition protests must be pre-approved by
them, but Navalny has in the past said that the Russian
constitution enshrines the right to freely hold such events.
On Friday, he denied the police's latest allegations, writing on
social media "I've never done that."
Navalny had been due to address a pre-election rally in the city
of Nizhny Novgorod later on Friday, part of a series of regional
events he hoped would help him build support for his
presidential run.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Andrew Osborn;
Editing by Christian Lowe)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
