About 5,100 people, including minors and reporters, were arrested
‘The largest number of people ever’ for the protest
Violence suppression patterns in various places such as beatings
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In Russia, protests demanding the release of opposition activist Alexey Navalni have resulted in the arrest of more than 5,100 protesters, including minors and journalists.
On January 31 (local time), according to Reuters and the Associated Press, a large-scale protest in support of Navalni in about 100 cities in Russia was held for the second week following the weekend. A local non-governmental organization (NGO)’OVD-Info’ said that as of 11:35 p.m., 5,135 people were detained across Russia, and the largest number of people have been arrested since writing statistics related to the arrests of protesters in Russia in 2011. Amnesty International, an international human rights organization, strongly criticized “there is no room in the detention facility,” as it was reported that more than 60 journalists covering the scene were arrested, as well as minors.
As the protests intensified, police suppression of violence was witnessed everywhere. Protesters attempted to assemble in a square near the Federal Security Agency (FSB) office, an intelligence agency that Navalni had pointed to as leading their poisoning, but when police blocked access, they moved to other squares and streets not far from there and held sporadic street demonstrations. . Some protesters clashed with police on their march to Matrosskaya Tishina detention center in northeast Moscow, where Navalni was imprisoned. OVD-Info claimed that some protesters were badly beaten with clubs in the process of being arrested.
It is said that Navalni’s wife, Yulia, was also arrested on this day and released. Foreign media such as CNN Broadcasting and AFP News assessed that he is playing the role of a resourceful, not just a volunteer, as Yulia fills the empty seats of her husband and leads the protest. Some Russian media have also made observations that Yulia will run for the Russian State Duma (House of Representatives) election in the fall. However, as the Russian government’s checks against Navalni and Yulia have already intensified, the analysis is dominant that it is unclear whether his run will be realized. Yulia also did not reveal her intention to run for public office.
Following the last protests, the United States again condemned the hard crackdown of the Russian police against the protesters. US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln tweeted, “The United States accuses Russian authorities of using harsh suppression tactics against peaceful protesters and reporters for the second consecutive week.” In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned in a statement posted on Facebook that it “requires to stop interfering in internal affairs with sovereign states.” “Blincoln’s support for (Russian protesters) violation of the law is another proof of Washington’s role behind the scenes,” he criticized, saying, “Promoting protests is part of Russia’s deterrence strategy.” / Reporter Kwak Yoon-ah
/ Reporter Kwak Yoona [email protected]
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