Thursday, December 12, 2024
spot_img

Russia arrests 3K during wide protests backing Navalny

Date:

Share post:

spot_img
spot_img

Moscow, Jan 31: Chanting slogans against President Vladimir Putin, thousands of people took to the streets Sunday across Russia’s vast expanse to demand the release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, keeping up the nationwide protests that have rattled the Kremlin.
More than 3,000 people were detained by police, according to a monitoring group. Russian authorities mounted a massive effort to stem the tide of demonstrations after tens of thousands rallied across the country last weekend in the largest, most widespread show of discontent that Russia has seen in years.
Yet despite threats of jail terms, warnings to social media groups and tight police cordons, the protests again engulfed many cities on Sunday.
The 44-year-old Navalny, an anti-corruption investigator who is Putin’s best-known critic, was arrested on January 17 upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusations. He was arrested for allegedly violating his parole conditions by not reporting for meetings with law enforcement when he was recuperating in Germany.
The United States urged Russia to release Navalny and criticized the crackdown on protests. “The US condemns the persistent use of harsh tactics against peaceful protesters and journalists by Russian authorities for a second week straight,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter.
The Russian Foreign Ministry rejected Blinken’s call as a “crude interference in Russia’s internal affairs” and accused Washington of trying to destabilize the situation in the country by backing the protests.
On Sunday, police detained over 3,000 people at protests held in cities across Russia’s 11 time zones, according to OVD-Info, a group that monitors political arrests. (AP)

spot_img
spot_img

Related articles

Turkey fines Meta over child privacy breach

Ankara, Dec 11: Turkey's data protection authority, the Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK), has fined Meta, the parent...

India’s renewable energy capacity logs 14.2 pc growth at 213.7 GW

New Delhi, Dec 11: India’s total non-fossil fuel installed capacity reached 213.70 GW in November, marking an impressive...

India poised to become leading maritime player: PM Modi

New Delhi, Dec 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday highlighted that with a strategic location in the...

Syrian militants lift curfew in Damascus, urge residents to return to work

Damascus, Dec 11:  Syria's Military Operations Administration announced Wednesday that it has lifted the curfew previously imposed on...