Alexei Navalny: Russian opposition leader freed after three weeks in jail for anti-Kremlin protests

He strikes defiant note as he's freed: 'If anyone thinks, that with arrests, they can scare or stop us, that is clearly not the case'

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny walks out following his release from jail (Reuters)

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been released after three weeks in jail on charges of organising illegal anti-Kremlin protests.

The 42-year-old – one of president Vladimir Putin’s strongest critics – was freed from a detention centre in Moscow.

It was the second time he had been detained in as many months: he completed a 30-day prison sentence on 24 September for organising a rally in January but was re-arrested as soon as he walked free.

“Over the 50 days I have been in jail we have seen yet more evidence that this regime is in complete decline,” he said, apparently referring to embarrassments to Russia’s intelligence services. “If anyone thinks that with arrests… they can scare or stop us, that is clearly not the case.”

But the release may only be temporary, supporters fear.

Authorities have turned up the heat on the Yale-educated lawyer since Mr Putin’s approval ratings dipped significantly over hugely unpopular pension reforms in the summer.

Allies of Mr Navalny say they expect further charges to be levelled which could result in a lengthy prison sentence.

He has been a consistent thorn in the side of the Kremlin since 2011 when he came to prominence as one of the organisers of huge anti-corruption protests.

This year he was barred from running against Mr Putin in the presidential elections because of a controversial 2013 embezzlement conviction, which the European Court of Human Rights later found to be unsound.

Amnesty International describes him as a prisoner of conscience and said he had committed no crime.