Watchdog

KAZAN, Russia -- A court in the capital of Russia's Tatarstan region, Kazan, has for the second time jailed the coordinator of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's presidential campaign.

The Vakhitov district court ruled on September 4 that Elvira Dmitriyeva was guilty of violating regulations governing public gatherings and ordered her held in custody for 10 days.

Dmitriyeva was initially jailed by the same court for 10 days on August 23 after she posted Navalny election materials in the Internet.

She was released two days later after Tatarstan's Supreme Court cancelled the court's ruling and ordered an additional investigation.

Dmitriyeva's lawyer told the Supreme Court that the activist's jailing violated rules because she is a member of a district electoral commission, and that the Internet post at issue was not a call to participate in a public gathering.

In the post, Dmitriyeva called on supporters to pick up leaflets at Navalny's headquarters in Kazan.

Dmitriyeva's lawyer Irina Gontsova told RFE/RL that she will appeal her client's new incarceration.

Navalny is campaigning for the March 2018 presidential election, in which President Vladimir Putin is widely expected to seek and win a fourth term.

A Russian court has rejected director Kirill Serebrennikov's bid for release on bail but slightly softened the conditions of his house arrest.

The Moscow City Court issued the ruling on September 4.

Serebrennikov was detained on August 22 and could be sentenced to 10 years in prison if tried and convicted on fraud charges he has dismissed as unfounded and absurd.

Some 1,300 young artists and other cultural figures have signed a petition in support of Serebrennikov, who investigators accuse of embezzling at least 68 million rubles ($1.1 million) in state arts funding.

A lawyer for Serebrennikov, Dmitry Kharitonov, asked the court to release him on bail of that exact amount: 68 million rubles.

The court ruled that Serebrennikov will remain under house arrest but will be allowed to leave his apartment to take a walk daily from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Serebrennikov, 47, is artistic director of the Gogol Center theater in Moscow and founded a dramatic collective called Seventh Studio.

He has participated in antigovernment protests and voiced concern about the increasing influence of the Russian Orthodox Church in cultural matters.

Dozens of prominent Russian artists have submitted character-witness testaments to the court in support of Serebrennikov.

Kremlin critics say his prosecution is part of a crackdown on dissent ahead of a March 2018 election in which President Vladimir Putin is widely expected to seek and secure a new term.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service, Interfax, and Dozhd