Russian opposition leader Navalny arrested amid protests

[Valin]

AP

JIM HEINTZ

1/28/18

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was wrestled to the ground and forced into a police vehicle Sunday as he headed to a Moscow protest that was part of a day of nationwide demonstrations.

Navalny, the most prominent foe of President Vladimir Putin, organized the protests to urge a boycott of Russia’s March 18 presidential election, in which Putin is sure to win a fourth term.

The anti-corruption campaigner was denied permission to be a presidential candidate because of an embezzlement conviction in a case widely seen as politically motivated.

Sunday’s protests gathered crowds through the sprawling nation despite frigid temperatures. Navalny’s web page showed a small group of protesters in remote Yakutsk, where it was minus 45 Celsius (minus 49 Fahrenheit).

A crowd that police estimated at 1,000 people assembled in central Moscow’s Pushkin Square, brandishing placards reading “They’ve stolen the election from us” and “Elections without Navalny are fake.”

Navalny was arrested as he walked down a main thoroughfare to the demonstration. Video on his YouTube channel showed Navalny struggling with police before they pushed him to the ground and then into a bus.

He called on supporters to continue the demonstrations despite his arrest.

(Snip)

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