- Alexei Navalny’s jailing will keep him from a rally scheduled for Putin’s birthday
- On Twitter the lawyer said the Russian leader had given himself a ‘little present’
- He had called for a demonstration to go ahead in the city of St Petersburg
- Violators of protest laws can face up to 30 days in prison for repeat offences
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been jailed for 20 days by a court in Moscow for calling for an unsanctioned protest.
Police detained Mr Navalny on Friday, preventing him from travelling to a rally in a major Russian city, which had received official permission.
The charges relate to an upcoming rally in St Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, which had not been sanctioned and was set to take place on president Vladimir Putin’s birthday on Saturday.
Alexei Navalny at the district court in Moscow, where he was jailed for 20 days after calling for an unsanctioned protest
Arguably Russia’s most popular opposition politician, Mr Navalny announced his presidential bid last year and inspired a grassroots campaign to support his nomination.
He mocked Putin on Twitter after today’s ruling.
Russian president Vladimir Putin was mocked on Twitter, where the opposition politician and lawyer referred to him as an ‘old man’ and suggested his jailing was a birthday present
’20 days in jail. Old man Putin got so scared of our rallies in the regions and decided to make himself a little present for himself for his birthday,’ he Tweeted.
The Russian law on public gatherings that was hastily adopted following massive anti-government rallies in 2011-2012 carries 30 days in jail for repeated violations.
Mr Navalny’s jailing keeps him away from a sanctioned protest happening this weekend on Putin’s birthday
The 41-year-old lawyer has faced jailings and criminal cases and faces 20 days inside after calling for an unsanctioned protest
The Kremlin has dismissed Navalny, who has faced repeated jailings and criminal cases, as an urbanite out of touch with people living in Russia’s 11 time zones.
But earlier this year the 41-year-old lawyer opened campaign offices in 80 cities and towns, attracting thousands of supporters in areas that lived for decades without political diversity.