Russians Protest Over Navalny’s Arrest

Russian police have detained close aides of the jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny, as a string of nationwide protests gets under way.

Police have broken up demonstrations in the eastern Khabarovsk region, amid stern warnings for people to stay home.

Mr Navalny’s supporters flooded social media with calls to rally at protests expected in dozens of cities later.

He is Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s most high-profile critic.

He was arrested last Sunday after he flew back to Moscow from Berlin, where he had been recovering from a near-fatal nerve agent attack in Russia last August.

On his return, he was immediately taken into custody and found guilty of violating parole conditions. He says it is a trumped-up case designed to silence him.

More than 60m people have watched his new video about President Vladimir Putin’s alleged luxury Black Sea palace.

The Kremlin denies the property belongs to the president.

Among those detained in Moscow on Thursday were his spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, and one of his lawyers, Lyubov Sobol. They face fines or short jail terms.

Ms Sobol, who has a young child, was later released. But Ms Yarmysh has now been jailed for nine days.

Prominent Navalny activists are also being held in the cities of Vladivostok, Novosibirsk and Krasnodar.