Russian lawmakers on Tuesday approved on the second reading of a bill that will increase fines for disobeying police at protests in an ongoing clampdown on unauthorised anti-government demonstrations. Tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets last month to denounce Kremlin rule and demand freedom for opposition figure Alexei Navalny who was sentenced last week to nearly three years in jail. Independent monitors reported that at least 10,000 people had been detained at the rallies and are now facing fines or short jail time for taking part. The State Duma lower house of parliament said in a statement that it had approved a second reading of the legislation that would quadruple fines for "disobeying... law enforcement officers". Protesters are currently subject to first-time penalties of up to 1,000 rubles ($13.50). The new legislation would see that figure rise to 4,000 rubles and reach 20,000 rubles for repeat violations. The bill was proposed in November last by a member of the United Russia party, which holds an overwhelming majority in parliament and backs President Vladimir Putin. Its first reading was approved in December, prompting some observers to say that the government was tightening laws on protests ahead of elections to the Duma in the autumn. The bill must pass three readings in the Duma before it moves for consideration to the upper house Federation Council and is then signed into law by Putin. Earlier this month, a law came into force obliging social networks with more than 500,000 daily users in Russia to delete calls to join unauthorised gatherings. Last year the Duma also submitted bills that would ban consecutive single-person pickets, the workaround activists have used for Russia's requirement on approval for public gatherings. The bills also proposed banning protests outside buildings of law enforcement agencies and introducing criminal charges for protest organisers who receive funding abroad. acl/jbr/txw