Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny calls for protests after court orders him to be held for 30 days upon his return Robyn Dixon UP NEXT MOSCOW Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny called on Russians to take to the streets in mass protests after a court ordered Monday that he be held in custody for 30 days after his return to Russia. He said Monday’s abrupt court hearing, to which a handful of pro-Kremlin media members were admitted, was a sign of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fear and weakness. “They are afraid of you,” he said in a video message after the verdict, calling Putin’s regime a gang of monstrous crooks. “They are afraid, and that is why they do things urgently and secretly.”