This file photo taken on September 29, 2017, shows Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny leaving a police station in Moscow. (AFP Photo/Maxim Zmeyev)
MOSCOW — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Sunday he had been released from the Moscow detention center where he had served a 20-day term for organizing protests against President Vladimir Putin.
“Hi. I’m out,” Navalny wrote on Instagram, posting a picture of himself on a street. His release was arranged by police to evade crowds of journalists waiting outside the detention center.
Navalny, who has declared his intention to run for president in 2018, said he was “ready to work” and was heading to a rally in the evening in the southern city of Astrakhan. The event has permission from the authorities.
He wrote jokingly that while in jail he had read 20 books, learned a few words of the Kyrgyz language and drunk 80 liters (20 gallons) of tea.
A photographer who works with Navalny to cover his campaign posted a picture of him working at the headquarters of his anti-corruption foundation.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny rests at his office after his release from a jail in Moscow, Russia, on October 22, 2017. (Evgeny Feldman/Navalny Campaign via AP)
Earlier Sunday, supporters of Navalny hung a banner from a bridge close to the Kremlin reading: “It’s time to get rid of Putin and time to elect Navalny.”
The charismatic 41-year-old lawyer informally launched a presidential bid in December last year and has since opened campaign offices and held rallies countrywide to consolidate supporters.
This year he has served sentences of 15, 25 and 20 days for organizing unauthorized anti-Putin protests.
Advertisement
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
