Jailed Russian Blogger Tweets Instagram Pic from Police Van

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Protesters inside the police van via Instagram. Photo: Alexei Navalny.
Protesters inside the police van via Instagram. Photo: Alexey Navalny.

 

The smiling faces make it look like a rowdy night out, but this jubilant photo was snapped with an iPhone in the back of a Russian police van.

Yesterday, Moscow-based blogger Alexey Navalny was carted away by the authorities while documenting the massive protests following the country’s contested parlimentary elections.

“With my lads on the police bus. They all say hi,”  Navalny tweeted in Russian. An hour later, he posted another Instagram photo, this time a group portrait in the Izmailovo jailhouse of everyone arrested.

Fittingly, Navalny’s trial was live-tweeted and documented with photos from the courtroom today. Along with Iliya Yashin, an activist from the Solidarnodst movement, Navalny was sentenced to 15 days in jail for his role in a protest against Vladimir Putin’s rule. He was charged with obstructing the course of justice.

“There is not a single doubt that my case is under the special control of the party of crooks and thieves,” Navalny told reporters in a courtroom before being charged, referring to the term he uses to describe Putin’s United Russia party, Reuters reports.

This is the latest we’ve seen of Instagram’s “fun and quirky” iPhone app capturing the news of the day – it was used to create some of the most haunting images of the London riots.

Via IJNet


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