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Protest leader arrested: Alexei Navalny, a leader of the grassroots protests against President Vladimir Putin, was charged with embezzlement this week in a revival of an old case. The charges, previously dropped by regional investigators, relate to his role as an unofficial adviser to the government in a 2009 timber deal. “Something absolutely absurd and very strange has happened, because they have completely changed the story behind the charge,” he said. “I cannot imagine how the investigators can prove this. But probably they will prove it.” Russia has a conviction rate of 99 percent. Opposition leaders believe the arrest illustrates the Kremlin’s fury over the huge demonstration, led by Navalny, on the eve of Putin’s May inauguration.

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