Russia: human rights crisis deepens as Navalny supporters arrested en masse

Amnesty International calls for the immediate release of all those who have been detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly, and for the immediate release of Aleksei Navalny who is being arbitrarily detained and denied access to independent healthcare.

“On Wednesday, in cities around Russia, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets calling for an end to the arbitrary imprisonment of Aleksei Navalny. In many cities, as usual, the Russian authorities responded by arresting protesters en masse, often using excessive force. If Moscow was spared from police violence and almost no one there detained this time, in Saint Petersburg police used tasers indiscriminately and in several instances beat detained protesters”, said Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Moscow Office Director.

“With every peaceful protester they arrest, the Russian authorities plunge the country deeper into a human rights crisis. Their attempts to trample dissent into dust are growing increasingly desperate – from the ongoing detention of Navalny and the effort to ban his movement by branding it ‘extremist’, to the violent targeting and mass arrest of his supporters.“

According to police watchdog OVD-Info, at least 1,786 protesters were taken into custody across Russia, with 805 detentions in Saint Petersburg alone. Authorities in Moscow and other cities denied permits for the rallies, claiming that they were in violation of COVID-19 restrictions.

“There are simply not enough jail cells to lock up and silence every critical voice in Russia. The Russian authorities’ shocking crackdown on basic freedoms cannot continue – the whole world is watching”.

More than 100 criminal cases have been opened against protesters. Most have been charged with violence against police officers, and 12 prominent activists have been charged with breaching COVID-19- sanitary restrictions by calling for the protests.