At least 5,000 people demonstrating without authorization against the military intervention in Ukraine were arrested on Sunday in 69 cities in Russia, as in the photos taken in Yekaterinburg.
At least 5,000 people demonstrating without authorization against the military intervention in Ukraine were arrested on Sunday in 69 cities in Russia, the NGO OVD-Info, which specializes in monitoring demonstrations, said on Monday. This is a number of unprecedented magnitude in a single day, much more than during the wave of protests in early 2021 across the country against the imprisonment of opponent Alexei Navalny.
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The latter, from his prison, called on the Russians to meet every day in the main square of their city to demand peace in Ukraine, despite the threat of heavy prison sentences.
Some 2,300 people were arrested in Moscow alone on Sunday, and 1,253 in Saint Petersburg, according to OVD-Info. At least 320 of them spent the night at the police station, according to the same source. Actions also took place in dozens of medium-sized cities across the country.
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Several activists have posted videos showing brutal arrests, kicking and truncheons.
To deter any criticism, Russian authorities on Friday passed a law cracking down on “false information” about the activities of the Russian army in Ukraine. According to this text, the penalties incurred range from fines to 15 years in prison.
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Those who demonstrate or call for demonstrations against the Russian military presence in Ukraine also face fines, in accordance with a new article of the administrative code which prohibits public actions “discrediting the armed forces”. If repeated, these offenses can be punishable by up to three years in prison.
In recent years, dozens of protesters have also been sentenced to harsh prison terms for “violence against the police”, grounds considered by many NGOs to be invented or highly exaggerated.
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