Last modified on Wed 17 Mar 2021 16.23 EDT
Supporters of the jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny face the prospect of indefinite house arrest, in what campaigners say is an attempt by the Kremlin to âshut downâ anti-government protests.
Ten prominent activists have been under house arrest for the past two months, including two members of Pussy Riot, Masha Alekhina and Lucy Shtein, as well as Navalnyâs brother Oleg, and Lyubov Sobol
, a lawyer with the opposition leaderâs Anti-Corruption Foundation.
They are accused of violating coronavirus restrictions by calling on Russians to take to the streets. More than 10,000 people were arrested in January, during pro-Navalny rallies that took place in 180 towns and cities across Russia. The protests were the biggest for a decade.