Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny says he will no longer observe the terms of his house arrest because he considers it illegal.
In a post on his website on January 5, Navalny said Russian law states that house arrest can only be ordered for suspects who have not yet been convicted.
He included a photograph of the severed ankle bracelet used to monitor his movements and suggested he had cut it off with a kitchen knife.
Navalny was convicted of large-scale theft on December 30 after a politically charged trial and handed a suspended 3 1/2-year sentence.
"I am the only person in the history of Russian trials to be under house arrest after receiving a suspended sentence," Navalny wrote.
He said he had no plans to travel anywhere but to and from his office and on trips with his wife and children.
Navalny's brother, Oleg, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison after being convicted on the same charges.
