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Navalny's spokeswoman placed under house arrest: Court Spokesperson

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 01 Feb 2021

#Navalny   #Russia  

Navalny's spokeswoman placed under house arrest: Court Spokesperson

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Moscow/Sputnik: A Moscow court has placed Kira Yarmysh, the spokeswoman of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, under house arrest for violating sanitary regulations at the unauthorized demonstrations, a court spokesperson told Sputnik.

"The court satisfied the investigator's petition to choose a preventive measure in the form of house arrest in relation to Yarmysh until March 23," Irina Sofinskaya said.

This past weekend, Kira Yarmysh was detained as part of a broader case on violating sanitary and epidemiological norms at the January 23 unauthorized pro-Navalny demonstrations.

Earlier in January, a Moscow court charged Yarmysh with "violating the procedure established for conducting a meeting, rally, demonstration, procession or picket." Yarmysh was arrested for nine days for urging Russian citizens to join the unauthorized rally in support of Navalny on January 23.

Last week, a Moscow court placed several of Navalny’s close allies, including his top associate Lyubov Sobol, coordinator of his team in Moscow Oleg Stepanov, Alexey’s brother Oleg Navalny and Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina, under house arrest for violating sanitary rules by calling for protests during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with Russian media on Monday that calling for unauthorized gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic was inadmissible and cynical, given the possible dangers. Medvedev accused Navalny supporters of drawing people to the streets, particularly minors, in order to achieve their own political goals.