This archive report was first published on 26 December 2019.
On Thursday, December 26, 2019, Russian authorities raided the offices of Alexei Navalny's anti-corruption group, the Foundation for Fight Against Corruption (FBK). Navalny, 43, claimed he was not detained, contrary to earlier reports.
"I was simply forcibly dragged out of the office (for some reason)," Navalny said on Twitter.
The raids, which took place on Thursday, were allegedly linked to Navalny's refusal to remove a 2017 report that accused Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of massive corruption. The report has racked up nearly 33 million views on YouTube.
Navalny also suggested that the raids were timed to coincide with his weekly YouTube programme, which he was set to address in the evening.
A picture posted by Navalny's staff on Twitter showed the Kremlin critic sitting on the floor with his legs crossed and two men in black uniform looking at him.
Another video released by the team showed law enforcement agents trying to break into the FBK offices using a power saw that sent sparks flying.
"New Year's fireworks," Navalny's ally Nikolai Lyaskin quipped on Twitter.
Separately, Russia's top opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that authorities had searched the Moscow apartment of its special correspondent Yulia Polukhina.
After the raid, Polukhina was taken to an unknown destination, according to Novaya Gazeta.
"So far this looks like an abduction," the newspaper said in a statement.
