Hundreds held in protests after Russian court orders Alexei Navalny to prison

Police officers detain a Navalny supporter at the Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. A Moscow court has ordered Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to prison for more than 2 1/2 years on charges that he violated the terms of his probation while he was recuperating in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning. Navalny, who is the most prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, had earlier denounced the proceedings as a vain attempt by the Kremlin to scare millions of Russians into submission. (AP Photo/Denis Kaminev)

Hundreds of people have been arrested during a night of protests after a Russian court ordered opposition leader Alexei Navalny to prison for more than two and a half years years, finding that he violated the terms of his probation while recuperating in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning.

The ruling ignited protests in Moscow and St Petersburg as Mr Navalny, the most prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, denounced the proceedings as a vain attempt by the Kremlin to scare millions of Russians into submission.