A district court in St. Petersburg has sent Yevgeny Smirnov, a local resident accused of painting the words "Putin killed Navalny," to serve a month in pretrial detention on hooliganism charges. Investigators determined that Smirnov painted the message accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of responsibility for the death of opposition politician and activist Aleksei Navalny on February 16. Navalny died on February 16 at a remote Arctic prison of what the Russian authorities claim was natural causes. Navalny's supporters and Western leaders have said Putin was ultimately responsible for his main political adversary's death. Following the painting incident, Smirnov's house was searched and his computer and bank cards were confiscated, his mother told OVD-Info. Smirnov's defense team has called for him to be released. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
St. Petersburg Resident Sent To Pretrial Detention For Writing 'Putin Killed Navalny'
People lay flowers at the grave of Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny following his funeral at the Borisovskoye cemetery in Moscow on March 1.