Alexei Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh, who spent the night in detention, was sentenced to nine days in jail over violating a law on public gatherings after a hearing that lasted less than five minutes, her lawyer Veronika Polyakova told AFP. Yarmysh was detained the previous day along with other close associates of Navalny ahead of protests planned across Russia on 23 January in support of the jailed Kremlin critic.