Russian Opposition activist Alexei Navalny was released on Sunday after 20 days in jail, Reuters reported. Navalny was arrested for allegedly staging an illegal protest last month. Navalny was detained on September 24 after he finished a 30-day stint in jail for planning an unauthorised demonstration in January.
“Over the 50 days I have been in jail we have seen yet more evidence that this regime is in complete decline,” AFP quoted Navalny as saying. “If anyone thinks that with arrests ... they can scare or stop us, that is clearly not the case.” He was referring to the revelation of the identity of a suspected Russian intelligence operative who may have poisoned a former agent, and the failure to launch a manned Russian space rocket.
Kremlin, the seat of the Russian government, has gone after Navalny ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating was dented because of unpopular pension reforms. Putin took oath in May amid protests against his government. Navalny and hundreds of anti-Kremlin activists were detained at a rally organised to protest against what Navalny called Putin’s autocratic Tsar-like rule.
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