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MOSCOW – Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny left the prison on Monday after serving a 30-day sentence for organizing a demonstration, but found a row of police officers waiting for his arrest.
Mr Navalny, a real estate lawyer turned anti-corruption activist who led a middle-class movement for political change in Moscow in 2011, has been subjected for many years to multiple arrests and penalties. relatively short imprisonment.
The detentions followed convictions for various administrative rather than criminal offenses, similar to fines, mainly to organize demonstrations without a parade permit.
The approach allowed the Russian authorities to keep Mr. Navalny out of sight for important events like organized demonstrations, while escaping criticism for hard treatment that could make him a martyr.
"The name of Aleksei Navalny has long been synonymous with peaceful protest and increased restrictions on freedom of assembly in Russia," Natalya Zviagina, Amnesty International's director in Russia, said in a statement. "He is a prisoner of conscience."
The organization said Mr. Navalny had spent 110 days in jail since last year on six separate convictions.
A spokesman for the police told the Interfax news agency that Mr Navalny had again been arrested, accused of violating a law on the organization of street protests. The offense committed this time carries a maximum penalty of 20 days imprisonment.
Her arrest was remarkable for the speed with which she followed her release. Russian media reported that Mr. Navalny was free for five seconds – the time he needed to get out of the prison door before being escorted to a police van waiting for .
Orchestrating the latest arrests shortly after Navalny's release was a form of psychological pressure, Leonid Volkov, director of Navalny's presidential campaign earlier this year, said in a telephone interview.
"It did not happen like that before," Volkov said. "He thinks he'll go home to his family, but no, he's arrested again."
Mr. Navalny, he said, was suitable for work while in detention. He is entitled to a 15-minute telephone call a day, which he uses to keep in touch with his anti-corruption group, the Anti-Corruption Foundation. Navalny also studied computer programming in prison.
Among frequent arrests, Volkov said, "It's sad but true that it's becoming so common that no one is paying much attention."
