Russia cracks down on Navalny allies on eve of planned protests

The stage is set for further clashes between pro-Navalny protesters and police, as fears grow for the imprisoned critic’s health.

Russian police detained several allies of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny on Tuesday and raided two of his regional offices, a protest monitoring group said, a day before his supporters plan to stage mass protests over his treatment in jail. Navalny, 44, declared a hunger strike at the end of March over what he said was the refusal of prison authorities to treat him properly for acute back and leg pain. Following reports about his declining health since then, and recent warnings he “could die at any moment”, Russia’s prison service on Sunday said he had been transferred to a hospital for prisoners.