The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
51°F
Current Conditions
Clear sky
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

Russian opposition leader Navalny detained, hurt in Moscow

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, center, gestures as he speaks using a loudspeaker at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, May 5, 2018, in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia. Navalny was detained Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018 outside his home in Moscow ahead of planned nationwide anti-government protest rallies, and his spokeswoman said he was later taken to a hospital with a suspected broken finger. (Dmitry Serebryakov / AP)
Associated Press

MOSCOW, Russia – Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detained Saturday outside his home in Moscow ahead of planned nationwide anti-government protest rallies, and his spokeswoman said he was later taken to a hospital with a suspected broken finger.

Navalny was detained Saturday afternoon and taken to a nearby police station due to an unsanctioned rally in January, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said.

Moscow police were not immediately available for comment Saturday on the detention or on Navalny’s reported injury.

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most formidable political foe, has called for nationwide rallies in early September to protest the Russian government’s plans to raise the retirement ages for both men and women. The issue has outraged and united a wide range of Russians from different political backgrounds.

Navalny, who rose to prominence thanks to his investigations into official corruption, on Friday published an investigation alleging that at least $29 million had been stolen in procurement contracts for Russia’s National Guard, which is headed by Putin’s former bodyguard, Viktor Zolotov.