Russian anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny has defied his house arrest by walking to his local store to buy milk, and says he was quickly intercepted by three men who escorted him home.

Navalny was convicted last week of fraud and given a suspended sentence of three-and-a-half years.

Pending appeal, however, he was kept under house arrest, which he claims is illegal.

On Tuesday, the opposition activist wrote on his blog that he had gone out to buy milk and he posted photos taken by his wife showing three men accompanying him back to their apartment.

The Kremlin appears reluctant to jail Navalny, so as not to make him a martyr, but also seems determined to keep him on a tight leash.

He stood trial with his brother Oleg, who was given a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence – and is now in jail. Opposition activists have claimed the charges against both men were political, and that Oleg is being held as a “hostage” in an attempt to control the political activities of his brother.