Russian opposition leader jailed for 30 days over January protest

Aug. 27 (UPI) -- A Moscow court sentenced opposition leader Alexei Navalny to another 30 days in jail Monday for an anti-government protest in January.

Navalny, 42, said the jail time was an effort to stop him from organizing a Sept. 9 protest against government plans to raise the age of retirement.

Police arrested him Saturday outside his home, saying they didn't arrest him immediately after the January rally because they hadn't been able to locate him. But Navalny spent 30 days in prison in Moscow in May for leading a protest earlier that month against President Vladimir Putin's inauguration.

"We both understand that the sole purpose of this strange trial is to keep me from participating in preparations for 9 September," Navalny told a judge Monday.

The Russian government plans to increase the age of retirement from 55 to 63 for women and from 60 to 65 for men. Meanwhile, life expectancy for men in Russia is 66 and for women is 73. Putin promised in 2005 never to raise the age for Russians to receive a pension.

"Mass protests are the only way to influence the authorities. Putin has cut off all the others," Navalny said in a video posted online before his arrest.