Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny was stopped by police to check for links to the Islamic State, Navalny wrote on his Twitter Friday.
He was stopped with several members of his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) for an hour on the border of the Krasnodar region in southern Russia.
“They were allegedly conducting an anti-terrorist operation and checking everybody, but no other vehicles except for the buses with FBK staff were stopped,” Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh told the Slon news website Friday.
After the checks, Navalny and his companions were released.
Spokeswoman for the Krasnodar branch of the Interior Ministry, Maria Pirogova, denied that Navalny was intentionally detained, the Interfax news agency reported.
“No one detained Navalny. As part of a preventive operation currently taking place in the region, police stopped and inspected a bus which Navalny was in,” Pirogova said.
The Islamic State is a terrorist group banned in Russia.
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