Russian opposition leader Navalny held ahead of March election

MOSCOW: Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny mentioned on Thursday he had been detained by means of police, weeks ahead of a presidential election by which he has been barred from working.
Navalny mentioned on Twitter that he was detained by means of police as he left from visiting the dentist. "They are taking me somewhere," he mentioned.

Navalny, a 41-year-old anti-corruption campaigner who organised a few of Russia's biggest protests of new years, says he has been unfairly barred from contesting the March 18 presidential election over what he says is a trumped-up suspended jail sentence.

Incumbent Vladimir Putin is extensively expected to win the contest, however Navalny has known as for a national boycott aimed toward undermining Putin's legitimacy by means of bringing the turnout down.

Navalny's detention on Thursday followed in a while after his marketing campaign chief, Leonid Volkov, additionally mentioned on Twitter that he had been detained by means of police at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

Tweeting prior to his detention, Navalny mentioned Volkov had been making plans to fly to the Russian regional republic of Bashkortostan to organise election-monitoring activities.