MOSCOW (AP) - A Russian judge on Monday ordered opposition leader Alexei Navalny jailed for 30 days, after the leading Kremlin critic returned to Russia from Germany where he was recovering from nerve agent poisoning he blames on President Vladimir Putin's government.
The ruling followed a hastily set up court hearing at a police precinct where Navalny was being held since his arrest at a Moscow airport Sunday evening, which sparked sharp reactions both at home and around the world.
A crowd of Navalny supporters outside the precinct shouted "Shame!" as the judge announced the ruling and Navalny's allies immediately called for protests. His arrest had already prompted a wave of criticism from U.S. and European officials, adding to existing tensions between Russia and the West.
His top strategist, Leonid Volkov, announced preparations for "large rallies" Saturday "all across the country."
"Don't be afraid, take to the streets," Navalny said in a video statement released after the ruling was announced. "Don't come out for me, come out for yourselves and your future."
At least 13 protesters were detained Monday outside the police precinct where the court hearing was held, and at least 55 demonstrators were rounded up by police in St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, according to activists.
The 44-year-old Navalny, Putin's most well-known critic, campaigned to challenge him in the 2018 presidential election but was barred from running. He has issued scores of damning reports over the years about corruption in Russia under Putin's regime. After recuperating for months in Berlin after his Aug. 20 poisoning, he returned to Russia on Sunday evening despite the warrant for his arrest.
As expected, Navalny was detained at passport control at Sheremetyevo Airport after the plane was diverted from landing at another Moscow airport in what was seen as an attempt to foil supporters who had gathered to cheer their hero's arrival.
Russia's prison service said Navalny had violated probation terms from a suspended sentence on a 2014 money-laundering conviction, which he says is contrived and politically motivated. The service said it would seek to have Navalny serve his 3-year sentence behind bars.
Navalny described the move as an attempt by the Kremlin to deter him from coming back to Russia to continue his political activities.
A court hearing on the prison service's motion to have Navalny serve his suspended sentence in prison is scheduled for Feb. 2, according to his lawyers.