More than 800 people demonstrating on Sunday against the Russian military operation in Ukraine were arrested across 37 cities in Russia, according to the NGO OVD-Info, which specializes in monitoring demonstrations. AFP journalists saw several demonstrators being brutally arrested in Moscow and Saint Petersburg (north-west), the country’s second largest city.
In the capital, a few dozen people had defied the ban on demonstrations by gathering on Manège Square, near the Kremlin. At least 100 demonstrators and a journalist were taken away by police, according to an AFP correspondent on the spot.
“Peace in the world !chanted a woman as she was dragged away by two officers. Several policemen had traced the letterZon their helmets, a sign of recognition expressing support for the Russian soldiers deployed in Ukraine.
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At the start of the evening, the Ministry of the Interior indicated that nearly 300 people had been arrested in the capital for “various breaches of public order“, specifying that legal proceedings were envisaged against them.
In St. Petersburg, where many police buses were visible in the center, protesters tried to keep a low profile. According to OVD-Info, at least 156 people were still arrested there during the day.
Kristina, 20, had come dressed in a blue jacket and a yellow hat, the colors of Ukraine, in order, according to her, to “protest one way or another“. “Of course it’s scary to go out (protest). Everybody’s taken away, several of my friends got arrested, some got kicked out of college“, she told AFP.
A passer-by, in her sixties, vociferated at one point against the demonstrators: “You are all traitors, we should all arrest you!»
14,700 arrests since the start of the conflict
Despite the ban, pacifists gather daily in Russia to denounce the military intervention in Ukraine. Although their number is limited, the mere holding of these gatherings is notable, so strong is the repression.
Those who demonstrate routinely face fines and even long prison sentences depending on the charges against them.
In all, since February 24, at least 14,700 people have been arrested in Russia during demonstrations against the conflict, according to OVD-Info. Last Sunday alone, more than 5,000 demonstrators were arrested, a figure of unprecedented magnitude for a single day.