An ally of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was arrested on Saturday on charges of inciting extremism online.
Pavel Zelensky, a member of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, was ordered into prison by the Presnensky District Court a day before Navalny is expected to return to Russia after being poisoned in August and fleeing to Germany for treatment. .
The court said in a statement to Reuters that Zelensky was jailed and that his arrest was confirmed by Ivan Zhdanov, director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation.
“[We] will not give up and help Pasha Zelensky’s family in every way possible, “Zhdanov said he tweeted.
The Anti-Corruption Foundation, a leading opposition group in Moscow, is working to investigate the government graft.
According to reports, Zelensky’s case revolves around an image he tweeted of Irina Slavina, a Russian journalist who caught fire in front of the Interior Ministry after police searched her apartment. Zelensky urged protesters to take to the streets after his death.
The arrest comes at a time of great upheaval in the tug-of-war between the opposition and the Russian president. Vladimir Putin
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Navalny announced last week that he intended to return to Russia on January 17 after being poisoned in an attack that was generally believed to have been ordered by the Kremlin. Russia’s prison agency warned this week that Navalny could be quickly arrested on his return to Russia, though that action could lead to fiercer protests and fool the opposition leader in the eyes of his Western followers and supporters.