Navalny Campaign Coordinator Jailed In Kazan

KAZAN, Russia -- The coordinator of Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny’s presidential election campaign staff in Kazan, the capital of the Tatarstan region, has been jailed for 10 days.

A court in Kazan ruled on August 23 that Elvira Dmitriyeva violated regulations governing public gatherings and imposed 10 days of administrative arrest.

The probe against Dmitriyeva was launched for her post online calling on supporters to pick up leaflets in Navalny's headquarters. She said she was innocent, insisting that her online post had nothing to do with a public gathering.

Her lawyer, Irina Gontsova, said the court's ruling will be appealed.

Dozens of Navalny campaign workers have been detained or questioned in Moscow and other cities in recent weeks.

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

Russian election authorities have said that Navalny will be barred from the ballot because of a financial-crimes conviction that he says was engineered by the Kremlin to punish him for his opposition activity and keep him out of electoral politics.