Russia NAVALNY'S TEAM TARGETED

NAVALNY'S TEAM TARGETED Navalny was jailed immediately after his Jan. 17 return from Germany — where he spent five months recovering from the nerve-agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin. Since then, authorities have moved swiftly to silence and isolate his allies. Last week, a Moscow court put his brother, Oleg, top associate Lyubov Sobol, and several other key allies under house arrest — without access to the internet — for two months as part of a criminal probe into alleged violations of coronavirus regulations during protests. All across Russia, top members of Navalny's team in the regions also faced arrests. Despite these moves, associates of Navalny who remain free have used social media platforms to organize the protests, designating assembly points and routes of marches and posting advice on how to bypass police cordons and avoid detention. During the Jan. 31 protest in Moscow, authorities imposed an unprecedented lockdown of the city center, closing large swaths to pedestrian traffic, shutting several subway stations, and closing restaurants and stores. The shutdown was aimed at preventing demonstrators from rallying near the main headquarters of the Federal Security Service and other government buildings.