Russian Opposition Activists Jailed In Vladivostok

Two Russian opposition activists have been jailed in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok two days after they were detained.

Dmitry Gultyayev, an activist from opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's office in Vladivostok, told RFE/RL that Vladimir Dubovsky, the coordinator of Navalny's regional team, was sentenced to 14 days in jail, and a leading member of a regional branch of a civil-society group, Open Russia, Andrei Yarotsky, was sentenced to 15 days in jail.

A court in Vladivostok found the two guilty of not complying with police orders.

The young men were detained on June 12 after police disrupted the founding gathering of Open Russia's regional branch in Vladivostok.

Open Russia's chairman, Andrei Pivovarov, his press secretary Natalya Gryaznyevich, and activist Maria Zinchenko, who were detained along with Dubovsky and Yarotsky, were found guilty of disobedience and fined the equivalent of $10-$15 each.

Open Russia is a civil-society group established by exiled Kremlin foe Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

In April 2017, the Russian Prosecutor-General's Office declared Open Russia "undesirable” under a controversial law signed by President Vladimir Putin in 2015 and accused the nongovernmental organization of conducting antigovernment activities.