Media reports in Russia's Far Eastern Khabarovsk Krai region say the son of the region's former governor, Sergei Furgal, who is in custody on charges of attempted murder and ordering two killings in 2004-05, has been detained.

According to the October 5 reports, Anton Furgal has been charged with organizing illegal protest rallies in the regional capital, Khabarovsk.

Furgal's detainment has not been officially confirmed.

His father, Sergei Furgal of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, was elected in 2018 in a runoff that he won handily against the region’s longtime incumbent from the ruling United Russia party.

His arrest on July 9 sparked mass protests in Khabarovsk and several other towns and cities in the region by his supporters that have been held almost daily since then.

The protests highlight growing discontent in the Far East over what demonstrators see as Moscow-dominated policies that often neglect their views and interests.

President Vladimir Putin's popularity has been declining as the Kremlin tries to deal with an economy suffering from the coronavirus pandemic and years of ongoing international sanctions.

With reporting by Amur Media and 5-tv.ru