A Russian internet activist who created a popular app allowing people to send alerts over arrests by the police is in custody awaiting trial on charges of drug possession, reports said Monday. Alexander Litreyev was detained on Sunday shortly after arriving in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and was found to be in possession of less than a gram of ecstasy, the Interfax news agency reported. His lawyer Alexei Bushmakov told Interfax that Litreyev had confessed his guilt and expressed remorse and was thus surprised by the court's "tough" decision to hold him for two months in jail in pre-trial detention. His arrest comes amid growing concern among activists that Russian authorities are using drugs charges to target campaigners behind troublesome initiatives, especially concerning the police. Litreyev designed a special mobile phone app called Krasnaya Knopka (Red Button) that allows people to rapidly alert relatives and civil society campaigners if they are arrested in a demonstration and indicate which police station they have been taken to. Bushmakov also told the Meduza website that Litreyev came to Yekaterinburg for just one day to meet a woman whom he had met over Instagram. The woman gave evidence in the court hearing, it said. Meduza said the expert in data security had previously worked with the anti-corruption group of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Litreyev, who is based in Estonia, also heads a company called Vee Security which offers VPN connections allowing Russian users to see sites blocked in Russia. Arrests by Russian police of activists on suspicion of possessing drugs have been in the spotlight since reporter Ivan Golunov was detained on trumped-up drug charges last June. Five former police officers have been detained for planting drugs in Golunov's backpack and at his flat. He was released after an unprecedented public campaign in his defence by supporters. Kremlin critics say drugs charges are routinely used in Russia to silence rights activists or to settle scores with opponents in disputes. sjw/gd