MOSCOW -- A retired Moscow police officer has been detained after holding a picket in the Russian capital's Red Square to demand the release of imprisoned opposition politician Aleksei Navalny and calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a "killer."
Former police Major Oleg Kashintsev was holding a poster saying "Free Navalny. Putin Is A Killer" when police detained him near the Kremlin on December 19.
Kashintsev was released several hours later after police charged him with a "violation of regulations on holding pickets" and "illegally wearing a police uniform."
Kashintsev worked in law enforcement for 18 years, including 14 years in the criminal investigation department at the Moscow police.
He left the police in 2019, protesting police pressure imposed on the country's opposition.
Kashintsev took part in several unsanctioned rallies to support Navalny in recent years.
Navalny is one of Putin's most prominent opponents. He was arrested in Moscow in January after returning from Germany, where he was treated for a near-fatal nerve-agent poisoning.
He and his supporters say the poisoning was carried out by Federal Security Service (FSB) operatives at the behest of Putin in retribution for Navalny’s political activities. The Kremlin has denied any role in the incident.
In February, Navalny was convicted of violating the terms of a suspended sentence related to an embezzlement case that he has called politically motivated. The remainder of Navalny's suspended sentence -- 2 1/2 years -- was then replaced with a real prison term.
