Outcry grows over Navalny crackdown

The outcry grew in Russia over the crackdown on peaceful protesters yesterday as EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was set to visit the country under pressure to confront Moscow over the imprisonment of opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

Borrell's visit -- the first to Russia by a top EU envoy since 2017 -- comes at a period of unusual turbulence in the country, with tens of thousands taking to the streets in support of President Vladimir Putin's top critic.

Navalny was sentenced this week to nearly three years in prison.

Over the past few weeks police detained thousands of protesters and dozens of journalists, and detention centres in Moscow and Saint Petersburg were overflowing with demonstrators serving brief jail terms.

On the eve of the EU foreign policy chief's visit, a court sentenced Sergei Smirnov, chief editor of Mediazona -- an online news publication often critical of the government -- to 25 days in jail over a re-tweet of a joke that included the time of a recent protest rally.

The jailing of Navalny, 44, and the crackdown sparked outrage among many Russians, and top broadsheets added their voices to the chorus of condemnation.

"Over the past few weeks we've witnessed extremely harsh actions of members of law enforcement," leading broadsheet Kommersant said.