Navalny freed after thousands rally against Putin and ‘pseudo-polls’
Moscow, (MILLAT ONLINE):Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been freed after a brief spell in police detention in Moscow as thousands rallied against a March election expected to extend Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin term.
“I’m free,” Navalny said on Twitter late Sunday, adding: “Today has been an important day… Thanks to all those who were not afraid to fight for their rights.”
Heeding a call by Putin’s bete noire, thousands braved freezing temperatures to stage rallies in dozens of cities to protest upcoming “pseudo-elections,” as Navalny and his supporters refer to them.
In Moscow, Navalny chanted “Swindlers and thieves” at a rally in the city centre Sunday before several police officers pounced on the 41-year-old opposition politician, knocking him to the ground and dragging him on to a bus.
Authorities said earlier Navalny would be charged with organising an unpermitted protest, adding he had been taken to a police station.
The opposition leader urged Muscovites not to give up.
“You are not rallying for me, but for yourselves and your future,” he tweeted.