Detachments of the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya) were dispatched to central Moscow following a district court’s decision to sentence opposition figure Alexey Navalny to two years and eight months in prison on Tuesday, February 2. Police officials cordoned off both Pushkin Square and Manezhnaya Square (a pedestrian area connecting to Red Square, where Navalny’s supporters called for protests). Several central subway stations were also shut down. Only a handful of arrests have been reported near Red Square so far.

Ahead of Alexey Navalny’s hearing on Tuesday, February 2, one of Russia’s most famous photographers — Dmitry Markov — was arrested near the Moscow City Court. “I wasn’t coming to work, I purposely left my [press] ID at home. I came as a citizen, this is my civic position, my stance on this process,” Markov said. Nevertheless, he managed to take a remarkable snapshot while in custody at a Moscow police station (pictured above). And it’s been circulating on social media as the “photo of the day” ever since. According to the Telegram channel Apologia Protesta, Markov has been released.

Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny was photographed at the Moscow City Court before the start of his hearing on Tuesday, February 2. The court is considering a petition from Russia’s federal prison authorities, who are seeking to imprison Navalny under a reinstated sentence for violating the terms of his probation in the Yves Rocher case. The police have cordoned off the area around the court and have arrested more than 200 people in the vicinity so far today.