Thousands take to streets in Moscow demanding release of political prisoners

By Dilip -

‘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

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