Opposition leader Alexei Navalny has filed a lawsuit against President Vladimir Putin for blocking citizens from demonstrating.

Navalny is barred from running in presidential elections next March due to an embezzlement conviction his supporters say is politically motivated. The presidential hopeful was detained for 20 days last month for organizing unsanctioned campaign events.

"The (Tverskoy) court has officially registered the lawsuit filed by Alexei Navalny against the President of the Russian Federation," Anastasia Dzyurko, a spokeswoman for the court, was cited as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Court documents posted to Twitter by Navalny’s chief lawyer, Ivan Zhdanov show the opposition leader accuses Putin of illegally blocking Russians from holding rallies.