2100 arrested at protests demanding Navalny’s release

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian police have arrested more than 2,100 protesters who took to the streets across the country in temperatures as low as minus-58 degrees Fahrenheit to demand the release of Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin’s most prominent foe.

Navalny was arrested on Jan. 17 when he returned to Moscow from Germany, where he had spent five months recovering from a severe nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin.

Authorities say his stay in Germany violated terms of a suspended sentence.

Demonstrations demanding his release were reported in at least 90 cities throughout the country, some of them attracting thousands of people.

UPDATE (2:30 p.m.): A group that counts political detentions says Russian police have arrested more than 3,400 protesters.