Russian policeman fired for posting video in support of Navalny

Moscow, Jan. 24, (dpa/GNA) – A police officer in Russia has been sacked from his post for voicing his support for the imprisoned dissident Alexei Navalny in a video on social media.

Ruslan Agibalov from the town of Kursk, about 450 kilometres south of the capital Moscow, said he posted the clip “in support of Alexei Navalny and all political prisoners.”

Agibalov said the video, posted ahead of Saturday’s nationwide protests against Navalny’s imprisonment, was spurred by a fear of the questions his children might one day ask him.

“Dad, what did you do for us to be able to live in a free, prosperous country?” Agibalov, dressed in uniform, says in the video.

Agibalov was dismissed a short time later, according to the Kursk department of the Interior Ministry, which said the officer had besmirched the honour of the force.

GNA