(NEWSnet/AP) — More than 400 people were detained in Russia while paying tribute to opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died at a remote Arctic penal colony, rights group OVD-Info said.
The death of Navalny, 47, was mourned by countless Russians, who had pinned hopes on President Vladimir Putin's fiercest foe.
Hundreds of people in dozens of Russia cities streamed to ad-hoc memorials and monuments to victims of political repressions with flowers and candles to pay a tribute to the politician.
At least 200 arrests were made in St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, OVD-Info said. Among those detained there was Grigory Mikhnov-Voitenko, a priest of Apostolic Orthodox Church. Mikhnov-Voitenko had announced a plan to hold a memorial service for Navalny and was arrested Saturday morning outside his home. He was charged with organizing a rally and placed in a holding cell in a police precinct, but was later hospitalized with a stroke, according to OVD-Info.
Courts in St. Petersburg have ordered 42 of those detained on Friday to serve from one to six days in jail. Nine others were fined, court officials said late on Saturday. In Moscow, at least six people were ordered to serve 15 days in jail, OVD-Info said. One person was jailed in Krasnodar and two more in Bryansk, the group said.
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