The day after the death in prison of Alexeï Navalny, the main Russian opponent of Vladimir Putin, a total of a hundred people were arrested during several rallies in Russia.
A total of a hundred people were arrested during several rallies in Russia in memory of opponent Alexeï Navalny, who died in prison on Friday, the specialized NGO OVD-Info announced on Saturday. According to the count published on its site and updated Saturday morning, “more than 101 people were arrested in ten cities”, mainly large urban centers. Around sixty were arrested and detained in Saint Petersburg, around fifteen in Nijni Novgorod and around ten in Moscow.
In Russia, any public criticism of power is punishable by prison
As of Friday afternoon, the capital’s authorities had warned residents against any “unauthorized” demonstrations after the announcement of the death of the Kremlin’s number one opponent. But in the evening, people lined up to lay flowers in several Russian cities on monuments to political dissidents, and arrests had already been reported. In Russia, any public criticism of power is punishable by prison.
Alexeï Navalny, 47, was serving a 19-year prison sentence for “extremism” in a remote Arctic colony, in very difficult conditions. His disappearance after three years of detention and a poisoning for which he accused the Kremlin deprives an already bloodless opposition of its figurehead, one month before the presidential election which should once again cement the power of Vladimir Putin.