Aide to Russian opposition leader sentenced to 30 days

The chief of staff for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to 30 days in jail on charges of violating public order in connection with an unsanctioned protest rally.

Leonid Volkov was sentenced late Thursday, several hours after being arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

The court sentenced him for retweeting a link to a video of Navalny being arrested as he walked to the protest rally in Moscow on Jan. 28. The court also said he published links to a live video stream of the rally.

Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner and the most prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, has called for a boycott of the March 18 presidential election, in which Putin is seeking a fourth term.