Russian court fines opposition leader Alexei Navalny over protest

Police officers detain anti-corruption campaigner and opposition figure Alexei Navalny during a rally in Moscow. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A court on Monday fined Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny 20,000 roubles ($352.20) for his role in organising what the authorities said was an illegal protest in Moscow on Sunday. The same court was due, later on Monday, to consider a separate charge against him of disobeying a police officer. A Reuters reporter saw police detain Navalny, who hopes to run against Vladimir Putin for the presidency next year, as he walked along central Moscow's Tverskaya Street on Sunday with supporters. ($1 = 56.7861 roubles) (Reporting by Sveta Reiter; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Kevin O'Flynn)