Putin: I've Learned of Opposition Searches from Press

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday during his visit to Jordan that he learned through the media that the homes of opposition figures in Moscow were searched. The homes of Russian opposition figures -- anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny, Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov, Solidarity movement head Ilya Yashin and TV star and socialite-turned-opposition activist Ksenia Sobchak -- were searched by police on June 11 ahead of an anti-Putin protest set for June 12. "In regard to the searches, believe it or not, but I knew about them from the press," Putin said, adding: "If everything was done within the current law, then that's fine, [but] if there are any breaches, then they should be investigated." Investigators said the searches on June 11 were legal and took place as part of a probe into the May 6 riots. Critics accused authorities of cracking down on Russian protest movement leaders.

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