MOSCOW – Two close associates of Alexei Navalny were detained Wednesday ahead of protests planned to support the imprisoned Russian opposition leader, who has been on a hunger strike since March 31.
Navalny's team called Sunday for nationwide protests after reports about the politician's health deteriorating in prison. Russian authorities have stressed that the demonstrations were not authorized and warned against participating in them.
Vladimir Voronin, a lawyer for top Navalny ally Lyubov Sobol , said on Twitter that people “in uniform” removed Sobol from a taxi near a Moscow metro station on Wednesday morning and took her to a police precinct.