An ally of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was detained on Saturday for allegations that he incited online extremism.
Pavel Zelensky, a member of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, was sentenced to jail by the Presnensky District Court a day before Navalny is expected to return to Russia after being poisoned in August and fled to Germany for treatment.
The court said in a statement to Reuters that Zelensky was jailed and his detention confirmed by Ivan Zhdanov, director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation.
“[We] will not give up and will help Pasha Zelensky’s family in any way possible, ”Zhdanov tweeted.
The Anti-Corruption Foundation, a leading Moscow opposition group, is investigating government transactions.
Zelensky’s case reportedly revolves around a photo he tweeted of Irina Slavina, a Russian journalist who set herself on fire in front of the Interior Ministry after police raided her apartment. Zelensky urged protesters to take to the streets after her death.
The arrest comes at a high point in the tug of war between the opposition and the Russian president Vladimir Putin
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Navalny announced last week that he plans to return to Russia on January 17 after being poisoned in an attack widely believed to have been ordered by the Kremlin. The Russian Prison Service warned this week that Navalny could be arrested immediately upon his return to Russia, although such an action could eventually spark fiercer protests and accuse the opposition leader in the eyes of his followers and Western supporters.