DEFIANT

Putin Critic Breaks Out of House Arrest

Alexei Navalny rallied protesters.

Alexei Navalny, the leader of the opposition movement to Vladimir Putin, has been arrested after breaking out of house arrest in Moscow. He violated court orders and left his home after being handed a suspended jail sentence by a court Tuesday, which was seen by many as Putin’s effort to keep Navalny from turning into a martyr. Navalny ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Moscow last year and was then convicted of embezzlement. While Navalny avoided jail for his fraud conviction, his brother, Oleg, was sentenced to more than three years behind bars. The outspoken activist tweeted that he planned to join Moscow protesters along with a photo of what appeared to be him on a subway train prior to his arrest.