Thousands take to streets in Moscow demanding release of political prisoners
‘No one can get a fair
hearing in Russian courts - injustice and lawlessness can happen to anyone now’
Thousands of
Russians have taken to the streets in Moscow to demand the
release of Kremlin critics apprehended in the run up to the country’s local
elections. Waving flags while
chanting “let them go” and “freedom for political prisoners”, monitors say
25,200 people marched in the Russian capital for a rally featuring opposition
leader and Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
The protest was
approved by the city’s mayoral office – a change from those of previous months
which saw some 2,000 people briefly detained in one of the largest crackdowns
against opposition supporters in the country’s recent history. Activists assembled to
challenge the detention of campaigners arrested at a series of rallies that
flared across the city in July - when opposition politicians were barred from
taking part in the local government poll.
Since then several
have been given four year prison sentences, while others are being prosecuted
for crimes including violence against police officers...
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-protests-moscow-election-arrests-latest-vladimir-putin-opposition-alexei-navalny-a9125666.html