Navalny protests: crackdown in Russia intensifies with ‘10,000 arrests’
- Thousands detained within the past month while protesting the arrest of poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny
- Activists and human rights advocates express alarm over new laws limiting civic expression
Multiple rallies were organised in recent weeks, with up to hundreds of thousands defying cold weather and an ongoing pandemic to voice their discontent. According to local human rights watchdog OVD-Info, an estimated 10,000 were arrested nationwide over the course of two weekend rallies, the highest number of protest-related detentions made since Putin became president in 2000.
Activists say police have acted more aggressively in the Kremlin’s crackdown on demonstrations.
“The police officers did not disclose their names or tell us our rights – they also rejected many requests to speak to a lawyer. We were not given food,” said Ivan Gutorov, a detained activist who works with informal education in Saint Petersburg. “It is worrying how aggressively the police disperse peaceful rallies. The level of acceptable aggression has risen sharply.”
02:58
Russian police detains thousands of Navalny supporters during protests from Moscow to Vladivostok
This aggression is underlined by new pieces of legislation pushed through the Russian parliament in late December, many of which curtail freedom of assembly. Single-person picket protests, a common loophole allowing Russians to avoid penalties for taking part in unauthorised mass gatherings, are to be criminalised.