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Navalny Allies Jailed for Tweets Supporting Anti-Government Protests

Sergei Boiko / Facebook

Two supporters of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been jailed for 30 days for tweets in support of unsanctioned anti-government protests.

Former Navalny spokesman Ruslan Shaveddinov and regional coordinator Sergei Boiko were both detained in Moscow this week, nearly three weeks after participating in the “He’s Not Our Tsar” protests against Putin’s inauguration in early May. Navalny himself is serving a 30-day sentence for organizing the anti-government rallies.

“30 days. I’ll continue to call on you to take part in the fight for our country’s future,” Shaveddinov tweeted Tuesday after hearing the verdict.

Boiko, Navalny’s campaign chief in Novosibirsk, was also given 30 days in jail.

On Wednesday, Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh was handed 25 days in jail for repeated violations of public assembly rules.

“When the courts simply rubber-stamp 30 days [...] these are full-scale political repressions,” Leonid Volkov, another Navalny aide, tweeted about the verdicts.

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