Darya Kheikinen. Photo: Bumaga

A court in St. Petersburg has placed a 21-year-old activist under arrest for eight days for displaying “extremist symbols” over an online post featuring a photo of murdered Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, local independent news outlet Bumaga reported from court on Wednesday.

Darya Kheikinen, who used to run the St. Petersburg office of Russian politician Boris Nadezhdin, who attempted to run for president in 2024 but had his candidacy denied, was placed under arrest for posting a photo of politician Alexey Navalny on the first anniversary of his death in February. She was detained on Wednesday afternoon.

In court, Kheikinen’s lawyer argued that Navalny’s likeness should not be considered “extremist material”. He also said the court had not proved that his client had published the post featuring the photo, according to Bumaga.

Kheikinen is extremely active in political circles. Aside from formerly running Nadezhdin’s office, she is also the leader of the opposition movement Mayak and the creator of a project called Fellow Citizens, which helps residents of Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions, which border Ukraine, who have been affected by the war.

The Justice Ministry added Kheikinen to its list of “foreign agents” in June 2024, meaning that she is effectively banned from working in Russia.