Navalny spokesperson’s house arrest extended

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh has had her house arrest extended by a Russian court until 2022.

“They’ve extended her house arrest for six months! Until Jan. 6 2022,” Veronika Polyakova, Yarmysh’s lawyer, posted on Twitter Wednesday.

Navalny’s spokesperson has been under house arrest since February for going to a protest in support of Navalny at the beginning of the year, Reuters reported.

She is being charged with breaking coronavirus rules at an unauthorized protest.

Yarmysh, who has been Navalny’s spokesperson since 2014, says the charges are politically motivated.

The 31-year-old has been just one target of the Russian government against Navalny allies. 

The government is cracking down on political opponents as parliamentary elections are set to be held in December. 

Navalny is currently in prison for violating his parole from a 2014 charge. He left the country to get treatment for a poison attack, which he claims was carried out by the country, and was arrested as soon as he got back to Russia.

The U.S. has placed sanctions on Russia for the attack against Navalny.