Navalny Campaign Coordinator In Kazan Ordered Jailed A Second Time

KAZAN, Russia -- A court in the capital of Russia's Tatarstan region, Kazan, has for the second time jailed the coordinator of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's presidential campaign.

The Vakhitov district court ruled on September 4 that Elvira Dmitriyeva was guilty of violating regulations governing public gatherings and ordered her held in custody for 10 days.

Dmitriyeva was initially jailed by the same court for 10 days on August 23 after she posted Navalny election materials in the Internet.

She was released two days later after Tatarstan's Supreme Court cancelled the court's ruling and ordered an additional investigation.

Dmitriyeva's lawyer told the Supreme Court that the activist's jailing violated rules because she is a member of a district electoral commission, and that the Internet post at issue was not a call to participate in a public gathering.

In the post, Dmitriyeva called on supporters to pick up leaflets at Navalny's headquarters in Kazan.

Dmitriyeva's lawyer Irina Gontsova told RFE/RL that she will appeal her client's new incarceration.

Navalny is campaigning for the March 2018 presidential election, in which President Vladimir Putin is widely expected to seek and win a fourth term.