Russian courts have sentenced hundreds of people detained at events where they laid flowers for Russian opposition leader and renowned Putin critic Alexei Navalny, who was found dead in prison earlier this week.
Navalny, 47, fell unconscious and died on Friday after a walk at the remote Arctic penal colony where he was serving a three-decade sentence, the prison service said.
His sudden death was a crushing blow to many Russians, who had pinned their hopes for the future on President Putin’s fiercest foe.
Mourners have left hundreds of flowers at the Solovetsky Stone monument in Moscow, with US ambassador Lynne Tracy and Britain’s Nigel Casey among those seen paying their respects.
More than 400 people have been detained in Russia while paying tribute to Navalny, who had remained vocal in his unrelenting criticism of the Kremlin even after surviving a nerve agent poisoning and receiving multiple prison terms.
Details of rulings published by the city’s court service over the weekend showed 154 people had been given jail time of up to 14 days for violating Russia’s strict anti-protest laws.
Rights groups and independent media outlets reported a handful of similar sentences in other cities across the country.
There are still few details of why he died, but prison authorities have said he suffered ‘sudden death syndrome’. However, Navalny’s allies and many world leaders have blamed his death on Putin and his government.
Follow Us on Facebook – @LadunLiadi; Instagram – @LadunLiadi; Twitter – @LadunLiadi; Youtube – @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Putin is a very wicked man