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Police intervention in the demonstrations in Russia
Photo: MAXIM SHEMETOV / REUTERS
According to the civil rights organization Ovd-Info, 2501 demonstrators were arrested during the protests in Russia for the release of the Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny, including 855 in Moscow and 327 in Saint Petersburg.
So many people have not been arrested on one day of a demonstration during nationwide protests in ten years.
The organization spoke of protests in almost 70 cities.
The Reuters news agency had estimated the number of demonstrators in the capital at at least 40,000, while the Russian Interior Ministry spoke of 4,000.
Navalny was arrested in Moscow last Sunday immediately after his return from Germany.
The next day he was sentenced to 30 days in prison in a controversial urgent procedure.
The 44-year-old is said to have violated reporting requirements in previous criminal proceedings while he was recovering from a poison attack in Germany.
He faces further trials and many years in prison.
Navalny had called on his supporters to protest.
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svv / Reuters
