MOSCOW (AP) – Russian anti-corruption crusader Alexei Navalny defied his house arrest on Tuesday by walking to his local store to buy milk, and said he was quickly intercepted by three men – presumably police – who escorted him home.
Navalny, the leading foe of President Vladimir Putin, was convicted a week ago of fraud and given a suspended sentence of 3½ years. He was kept under house arrest pending appeal.
Claiming that it was illegal to keep him under house arrest after conviction, Navalny announced on Monday that he had cut off his monitoring bracelet with a kitchen knife.
On Tuesday, he wrote on his website that he had been stopped after buying milk, and posted photos taken by his wife showing him walking back to the apartment, milk carton in hand, accompanied by the three men.
The Kremlin appears reluctant to jail Navalny, so as not to make him a martyr, but also seems determined to keep him on a tight leash.