Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was detained on Tuesday, December 30, by police in downtown Moscow when he tried to join a protest rally after violating his house arrest.

      Putin's critic and human rights activist Alexey Navalny has wittingly broken the terms of house arrest and came to Manezhnaya Square in the center of Moscow to join crowds of his supporters at the unapproved protest meeting.

      According to the terms of his sentence, Alexey Navalny is not allowed to leave his residence.

      "I know the terms of my house arrest but I also want to be together with you today. So I'm also heading there," Alexey Navalny wrote via Twitter. The news kept up the spirit of Navalny's supporters gathered in the square and also drew much more attention to the rally.

      However, the opposition leader was arrested shortly after arriving at the Manezhnaya Square. “I was not able to reach Manezhnaya square, but that does not mean you (other protesters) won’t,” Navalny wrote in his Twitter blog after his arrest.

      The most severe punishment for violating house arrest is a fine or a custody for 15 days.

      Earlier on Tuesday the Moscow court has handed down a suspended sentence of 3.5 years for Alexey on embezzlement charges. His brother Oleg was sentenced to a prison term of 3.5 years and was immediately taken into custody. Alexey Navalny has repeatedly called this verdict politically motivated. His lawyers have already appealed the verdict.

      The rally was organized by Navalny's supporters as a protest action against the fabricated verdict. Previously, they had planned to hold the event on January 15, 2015, but the date for the pronouncement of sentence was moved abruptly to December 30. However, the meeting's organizers still plan to gather on January 15 for another protest rally.