At least 12 people arrested near police station where Navalny was being held

On Monday, January 18, law enforcement officers arrested at least 12 people outside of Khimki’s Second Police Station, where Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny was being held after he was taken into custody at Sheremetyevo International Airport on Sunday night.

The human rights organizations “Apologia Protesta” and “OVD-Info” have sent lawyers to two different police stations in the area to assist the detainees.

Also on Monday, dozens of Navalny’ supporters were arrested during a protest near the Gostiny Dvor department store in downtown St. Petersburg. The demonstration began after the news broke that the opposition figure had been remanded in custody for 30 days. According to the local news outlet Bumaga, at least 33 people were detained. 

In addition, one person was arrested for conducting a solo demonstration in support of Navalny in the far-northern city of Arkhangelsk.

A Khimki City Court judge remanded Alexey Navalny in custody until February 15, during a hearing at the police station in Khimki earlier in the day on Monday. Navalny was then sent to pre-trial detention at the Matrosskaya Tishina prison in Moscow.

Also on Monday, Navalny’s trial was postponed from January 29 to February 2; Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service is seeking to reinstate his original sentence in the Yves Rocher case and incarcerate him on the grounds that he violated the terms of his probation while recovering from chemical nerve agent poisoning in Germany.

Following today’s hearing, Navalny urged his supporters to take to the streets and his team announced that they are organizing countrywide protests demanding his release for Saturday, January 23.