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DARIA LITVINOVA AND VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears on a TV screen during a live session with the court during a hearing of his appeal in a court in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, with an image of the Moscow Kremlin in the background. Navalny was jailed soon after arriving to Moscow after authorities accused him of violating of the terms of his 2014 fraud conviction. A court on Thursday is to hear an appeal on the ruling to remand him into custody. Next week, another court will decide whether to send him to prison for several years for the alleged violations. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
MOSCOW -- A Russian court Thursday rejected an appeal by opposition leader Alexei Navalny for his release from jail, while authorities detained several of his allies and warned social media companies about promoting more protests after tens of thousands rallied across the country last weekend demanding his freedom.
Appearing in court by video link, Navalny denounced the criminal proceedings against him as part of a government campaign to intimidate the opposition.
"You won't succeed in scaring tens of millions of people who have been robbed by that government," he said. "Yes, you have the power now to put me in handcuffs, but it's not going to last forever."
The 44-year-old Navalny, the best-known critic of President Vladimir Putin's government, was arrested Jan. 17 upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusations.
Navalny was arrested and jailed for 30 days after Russia's prison service alleged he had violated the terms of his suspended sentence from a 2014 money-laundering conviction that he has rejected as politically motivated. He also faces accusations in two criminal investigations.
Before the Moscow Region Court rejected his appeal, defense lawyers argued that while recovering in Germany from the poisoning, Navalny could not register with authorities as required by the terms of his probation. His lawyers also said Navalny's due-process rights were repeatedly violated during his arrest.
Navalny's supporters are organizing another round of rallies for Sunday. Police on Wednesday searched Navalny's rented apartment, where his wife, Yulia, has been living, and the homes of several of his associates and supporters.
Also detained were Navalny's brother, Oleg; his top ally, Lyubov Sobol; Oleg Stepanov, head of Navalny's Moscow office; Dr. Anastasia Vasilyeva from the Navalny-backed Alliance of Doctors; and Maria Alyokhina from the Pussy Riot punk collective. They were detained for 48 hours as part of a criminal investigation into alleged violations of coronavirus regulations during Saturday's protests.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the searches and detentions were a legitimate part of police efforts to investigate the alleged violations.
Also Thursday, Russian prosecutors issued warnings to Facebook, Google, Twitter, TikTok and Russian social networks, demanding that they block calls for more protests.
Information for this article was contributed by Kelvin Chan of The Associated Press.
A police officer pushes photographers from a door of the apartment where Oleg Navalny, brother of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny lives in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. Police are searching the Moscow apartment of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, another apartment where his wife is living and two offices of his anti-corruption organization. Navalny's aides reported the Wednesday raids on social media. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)
A police officer and an investigator stands behind the door of the apartment of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. Police are searching the Moscow apartment of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, another apartment where his wife is living and two offices of his anti-corruption organization. Navalny's aides reported the Wednesday raids on social media. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Police stand in front of a door of the apartment building where Oleg Navalny, brother of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny lives in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. Police are searching the Moscow apartment of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, another apartment where his wife is living and two offices of his anti-corruption organization. Navalny's aides reported the Wednesday raids on social media. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)
Police walk out from a door of the apartment where Oleg Navalny lives, brother of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. Police are searching the Moscow apartment of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, another apartment where his wife is living and two offices of his anti-corruption organization. Navalny's aides reported the Wednesday raids on social media. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)
Lyubov Sobol, ally of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, speaks during her news conference via video conference in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. Allies of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny are calling for new protests next weekend to demand his release, following a wave of demonstrations across the country in a defiant challenge to President Vladimir Putin. The words on her tribune reading "Free Navalny". (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
FILE - In this Friday, Aug. 21, 2020, file photo, Oleg Navalny, Alexei Navalny's brother, speaks to the media at the Omsk Ambulance Hospital No. 1, intensive care unit where Alexei Navalny was hospitalized in Omsk, Russia. Moscow police have arrested the brother of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny after carrying out a series of raids on apartments and offices belonging to the politician's family and associates. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Sofiychuk, File)
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears on a TV screen during a live session with the court during a hearing of his appeal in a court in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, with the wall with the image of the Moscow Kremlin in the background. Navalny was jailed soon after arriving to Moscow after authorities accused him of violating of the terms of his 2014 fraud conviction. A court on Thursday is to hear an appeal on the ruling to remand him into custody. Next week, another court will decide whether to send him to prison for several years for the alleged violations. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears on a TV screen during a live session with the court during a hearing of his appeal in a court in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. Navalny was jailed soon after arriving to Moscow after authorities accused him of violating of the terms of his 2014 fraud conviction. A court on Thursday is to hear an appeal on the ruling to remand him into custody. Next week, another court will decide whether to send him to prison for several years for the alleged violations. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Police stand guard at the Foundation for Fighting Corruption office in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. Police are searching the Moscow apartment of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, another apartment where his wife is living and two offices of his anti-corruption organization. Navalny's aides reported the Wednesday raids on social media. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
