Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was taken away by police following a raid on the headquarters of his Anti-Corruption Foundation.
Mr Navalny said later on Twitter he had been taken away but not arrested. During the raid on Thursday, computers and data storage devices were seized, as in previous raids.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaks to the media, flanked by a police officer, following his arrest. Source: AP
On Instagram, Mr Navalny released a photo of himself accompanied by masked men in black uniforms and helmets.
His team also released a video showing the uniformed men violently gaining access by forcing a door open with an angle grinder.
Mr Navalny, who is one of the most outspoken critics of the government of President Vladimir Putin, said the security forces were moving against his organisation because it refused to delete a YouTube video accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of corruption.
As of Thursday, the video has been viewed by almost 33 million people.
Another shot of the opposition politician during the police raid. Source: Instagram, Supplied
Recently, Mr Navalny's team switched to using a pornographic website because a video on YouTube had been blocked.
His team also said the action was prompted by authorities wanting to prevent a video with more critical content, planned for Thursday evening, from being released.
have attracted a lot of attention nationwide, and the activists have complained about being obstructed by authorities. The opposition politician has
In Russia, such revelations generally do not lead to the authorities initiating investigations. Rather, they target those who collect evidence against public officials.
Russian opposition activist Lyubov Sobol reports live using her phone during the police raid. Source: AP
Mr Navalny's supporters also reported on the fate of anti-corruption activist Ruslan Shaveddinov, who went missing earlier this week. It is believed that he was forcibly conscripted and
Mr Navalny, who had accused the authorities earlier of "kidnapping" the activist, said Mr Shaveddinov had managed to get in touch meanwhile.
It remains unclear whether there exists a valid conscription order for Mr Shaveddinov. Moscow's army offices said there was one but Mr Navalny said that the activist had fought the order and legal proceedings were still ongoing.
The Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that nobody was allowed to avoid the draft.
Mr Navalny has been a vocal opponent and critic of Vladimir Putin. Source: AAP
In Russia, young men have to serve for one year. If Mr Shaveddinov had tried to dodge the draft and had been forcibly conscripted, then this had happened in accordance with the law, the spokesperson said.
With wires...
