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Aleksei Navalny was detained on his way to a rally in Moscow.
Aleksei Navalny was detained on his way to a rally in Moscow.

Live Updates: Aleksei Navalny Detained

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-- Kremlin opponent Aleksei Navalny has been detained by police while trying to reach an unsanctioned rally in Moscow against his December 30 conviction in a fraud case. He was trying to reach the protest near the Kremlin despite being under house arrest.

-- Russian riot police have deployed in Moscow's Manezh Square, near the Kremlin, where thousands of demonstrators at an unsanctioned rally are protesting a court ruling against Navalny.

-- A Russian court found Navalny and his brother Oleg guilty. Oleg will get 3 1/2 years in a prison colony while Aleksei has been given a 3 1/2-year suspended sentence.

-- Speaking after the verdict, Navalny called on Russians to take to the streets. He said the state had taken to "torture" of family members. Other activists have compared the sentence of his brother to "hostage-taking."

-- Prosecutors claimed Navalny and his brother stole about 31 million rubles ($520,000) from the Russian affiliate of Yves Rocher, a French cosmetics firm. They were both also fined 500,000 rubles ($8,500) each and ordered to pay 4.4 million rubles ($70,000) in compensation to one of the companies they were charged with defrauding.

-- The verdict was originally scheduled for January 15, but in a surprise move authorities moved the date to December 30. Some suspect the change of timing is to distract from a protest being organized on January 15. The official holiday season begins on January 1 in Russia.

NOTE: Times according to Moscow time.

17:55 30.12.2014

RFE/RL's Russian Service reports from the scene that police are mobilizing to clear Manezh Square of protesters who came out to demonstrate against today's conviction of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny and his brother Oleg.

17:53 30.12.2014

Russian photographer Mitya Aleshkovskiy has posted a photograph of detained protesters inside a police paddy wagon.

17:46 30.12.2014

17:39 30.12.2014

17:31 30.12.2014

The website OvdInfo.org is tracking the number of demonstrators arrested at the central Moscow protests in support of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. So far it claims 132 people have been detained.

17:24 30.12.2014

Aleksei Navalny, who was detained earlier this evening in central Moscow, says he is already home and being kept inside his apartment, where five police security officers are manning the door.

17:15 30.12.2014

Here's a video of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny being detained by police on Moscow's central Tverskaya Ulitsa on his way to attend the Manezh Square protest near the Kremlin.

17:05 30.12.2014

Dozhd TV correspondent reports police detaining dozens of demonstrators at the pro-Aleksei Navalny protests in central Moscow.

16:56 30.12.2014

The office of EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has issued a statement about the conviction and sentencing today in Moscow of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny (suspended sentence) and his brother Oleg (3.5 years in prison):

The guilty verdict delivered today, Tuesday 30 December, by the Zamoskvoretsky Court against Alexey Navalny and his brother Oleg Navalny appears to be politically motivated.

The charges against them have not been substantiated during the trial. With the exception of a few selected representatives of the media, no public and international observers were allowed into the court building for the reading of the verdict.

The EU stresses the importance of judicial decisions to be free from political interference, independent, and in full compliance with the rule of law.

In anticipation of announced public actions tonight in Moscow, the EU expects that all parties concerned will show restraint.

16:49 30.12.2014

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