July 25 (UPI) — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said he was arrested Wednesday, days before he was to hold a massive anti-government protest.
Navalny, 43, was to hold a protest in Moscow on Saturday against the government’s decision to prohibit opposition candidates from running for election in the 45-seat Moscow City Duma parliament slated for September. The protest was to follow three weeks of demonstrations with the largest yet held July 20 in the capital that was attended by some 20,000 people, Bloomberg reported.
In a short video filmed from the police station and posted to his Instagram account, Navalny said he was arrested by officers as he left his Moscow apartment early Wednesday for a run.
His spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said via Twitter that he has been charged with luring people to attend an unsanctioned event and could face up to 30 days in jail if convicted.
She said that Navalny has declared a motion to dismiss the charges while petitioning to postpone the execution of punishment so he can attend the protest Saturday.
“I went out to run and buy flowers for my wife whose birthday it is today,” Navalny said, according to the Irish Times, adding that a bus was waiting outside for him. “Now, I’m sitting in my shorts like a fool at the police station.”
Moscow’s Election Commission had required independent candidates to collect thousands of signatures to be allowed on the ballot in September’s election, but after some 20 opposition activists met the demand the commission disqualified them stating some signatures were invalid.
Yarmysh said via Twitter that police also detained Oleg Stepanov, the coordinator of Navalny’s Moscow headquarters.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin was appointed to his post by Russian President Vladimir Putin and beat out Navalny, who came in second, in 2013 during a controversial election, Radio Free Europe reported.
Navalny has been arrested several times, including in June when he was rounded up with more than 400 people in an unauthorized march.
It was also his second arrest this month, being released from jail on July 11 after serving a 10-day sentence in connection to attending an unsanctioned protest.
The arrests came as police conducted searches of opposition candidates Dmitry Gudkov, Ivan Zhdanov and Aleksandr Solovyov.
“About 10 policemen came to search our home,” said Valeriya Gudkov, Dmitry Gudkov’s wife, through his Twitter account. “I, myself, am in Bulgaria with my son. Dima does not allow me to call. The police are looking for materials on the upcoming action on the 27th.”
