Alexei Navalny's wife is fined for attending a rally supporting her husband - Tech

The wife of prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been fined by a Moscow court for taking part in an unauthorised rally in support of her husband.

Yulia Navalnaya was fined 20,000 roubles (£192.02) on Monday, a day after being arrested at an unsanctioned protest in Moscow.

Her lawyer Svetlana Davydova told Russia’s TASS news agency on Sunday that Navalnaya had been arrested and released on the understanding that she would appear in court today. Navalnaya had faced a 15-day administrative arrest, her lawyer said.

Navalnaya’s second arrest in as many weeks came as Russian prosecutors backed a request by the prison service to imprison Navalny.

Yulia Navalnaya (pictured), the wife of prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny attended court on Monday, a day after she was arrested at a rally in support of her husband

Navalnaya’s lawyer Svetlana Davydova told Russia’s TASS news agency on Sunday that she had been arrested and released on the understanding that she would appear in court today. Pictured: Navalnaya arrives at a Moscow court on Monday

Navalnaya (right) is facing a 15-day administrative arrest, her lawyer said. It is her second arrest in as many weeks and came as Russian prosecutors backed a request by the prison service to imprison Navalny

On Monday, the General Prosecutor’s Office issued a statement saying the motion to change the opposition figure’s suspended sentence to jail time was ‘considered lawful and justified’.

The 44-year-old is facing charges of violating the terms of a 2014 suspended sentence and could be jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Navalny was detained at a Moscow airport in mid-January after flying back to Russia from Germany where he was recovering from being poisoned with a nerve agent in an attack he blames on the Kremlin.

The anti-corruption campaigner is being held in a high-security detention centre and faces years of potential jail time in several different criminal cases.

Western governments have called for Navalny’s release while his team have urged supporters to gather in front of Moscow’s Simonovsky district court on Tuesday.

Alexei Navalny (centre) is facing charges of violating the terms of a 2014 suspended sentence and could be jailed for two-and-a-half years. Pictured: Navalny is escorted out of a police station following a court ruling that ordered him jailed for 30 days [File photo]

Russian police have detained more than 5,300 people across the country in a massive clampdown on anti-Kremlin protests, a monitor said on Monday. Pictured: Protesters and riot police square off in Moscow where attempts by the authorities to quell demonstrations on Sunday were thwarted

On Sunday, thousands of protesters defied government warnings and rallied from Vladivostok to Saint Petersburg in a second week of mass demonstrations over the arrest of President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent opponent. Pictured: Riot police officers detain a man during a rally in Moscow on Sunday

OVD Info, which monitors arrests at opposition protests, said more than 5,300 people had been detained, including nearly 1,800 people in Moscow and almost 1,200 in Saint Petersburg. Pictured: Police officers detain a man at a protest in Moscow

Russian police have detained more than 5,300 people across the country in a massive clampdown on anti-Kremlin protests, a monitor said on Monday.

OVD Info, which monitors arrests at opposition protests, said more than 5,300 people had been detained, including nearly 1,800 people in Moscow and almost 1,200 in Saint Petersburg.

Pressure from Western powers grew on Monday as France urged Germany to scrap a major gas pipeline project with Russia in protest over Navalny’s detention.

‘We have always said we have the greatest doubts on this project in this context,’ European Affairs minister Clement Beaune told France Inter radio.

Asked specifically if France wanted Berlin to drop the project, Beaune said: ‘Indeed, we have already said this.’

Pressure from Western powers grew on Monday as France urged Germany to scrap a major gas pipeline project with Russia in protest over Navalny’s detention. Pictured: A specialist works onboard the Allseas’ deep sea pipe laying ship Solitaire to prepare for NordStream II in September 2019 [File photo]

The United States and several European countries have also criticised the Nordstream II project, saying it will increase German and EU dependence on Russia for critical gas supplies. Pictured: Workers are seen at the construction site of the Nord Stream II gas pipeline near the town of Kingisepp, Russia, in June 2019 [File photo]

The United States and several European countries have also criticised the Nordstream II project, saying it will increase German and EU dependence on Russia for critical gas supplies.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has insisted on the project, which saw work resume in December after nearly a year’s delay due to US sanctions.

Beaune said European leaders were weighing new sanctions against Russia over Putin’s crackdown on the opposition led by Navalny.

‘Sanctions have already been imposed, we could do that but we have to be clear, they will not be enough,’ Beaune said.

‘The Nordstream option is one under consideration,’ he added, while acknowledging that ‘it’s a decision for Germany, because the pipeline is in Germany.’