Top Navalny associate faces Investigative Committee

A top ally of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny arrived at the Russian Investigative Committee on Thursday over charges she violated coronavirus pandemic restrictions when she called on people to protest. Lyubov Sobol is a key figure in Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation.

Last week, a Moscow court put Sobol, Navalny's brother Oleg and several other allies under house arrest, without access to the internet, for two months as part of a criminal probe into the alleged breach of coronavirus restrictions. Sobol was also charged with trespassing after ringing the doorbell of an alleged security operative who inadvertently revealed details of Navalny's supposed poisoning with a Soviet-era nerve agent.

Sobol's lawyer Vladimir Voronin told reporters an appeal had been lodged against her house arrest. Russian authorities have targeted Navalny’s associates and activists across the country as part of efforts to squelch mass protests in response to the opposition leader's detention.