MOSCOW (AP) — A prominent Russian opposition figure has been detained by police for the fifth consecutive time after he served four sentences in jail connected to protests in Moscow.

Ilya Yashin was initially jailed for 10 days in July for taking part in an unsanctioned rally but was detained upon his release three times after that and sentenced to 10 days each time for calling for more protests. The Moscow municipal deputy was detained again as he was walking out of the detention facility on Wednesday afternoon. He hasn't had a court hearing yet.

The 36-year-old Yashin is one of the nearly two dozen independent politicians who were denied a place on the Sept. 8 ballot for Moscow's city council legislature. Their exclusion has sparked a series of protests in Moscow.