Alexei Navalny placed under house arrest

Russian opposition activist Alexie Navalny leaves a court in Moscow. File photo

A Moscow court has put Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest, forbidding him from using the internet or receiving any visitors.

Mr. Navalny is a leading opposition figure and anti-corruption crusader. He and his supporters published a damning report in January, documenting corruption in the preparations for the Sochi Olympics.

Mr. Navalny’s associates wrote in his blog that a judge at the Basmanny Court in Moscow on Friday granted a petition by prosecutors for Mr. Navalny’s arrest for a fraud conviction.

In July last year, Mr. Navalny was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to five years in prison. A day later, however, he was released on a suspended sentence following mass street protests in Moscow.