The Russian police proceeded Sunday, January 31 to more than 5,000 arrests and blocked the center of several cities, including Moscow, during new demonstrations in Russia to demand the release of the opponent Alexeï Navalny.
These arrests were immediately condemned by the United States, the European Union and Canada.
Read also: Courage and truth: the Solzhenitsynian choice of Alexeï Navalny
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken deplored the “
brutal tactics
” of the police against “
peaceful protesters
”, with Russian diplomacy denouncing the “
gross interference
” of the United States in its “
internal affairs
” .
EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell "
deplored the massive arrests
" and "
the disproportionate use of force
" against protesters and journalists.
“
People must be able to exercise the right to protest without fear of repression,
” he said on Twitter.
In the Russian capital, covered by a thin layer of snow, protesters and riot police present en masse played cat and mouse all day Sunday, to the rhythm of the instructions issued on social networks by Alexeï's team. Navalny.
Central Moscow has been completely cordoned off, starting with Lubyanka Square, home to the headquarters of the Security Services (FSB), in front of which protesters originally hoped to rally.
Faced with the roadblocks of the police, who also closed several metro stations, they preferred to go to the detention center in which Alexeï Navalny is imprisoned, but without succeeding for the most part, before returning to the city center again. .
AFP journalists saw thousands of demonstrators marching through the heart of Moscow chanting “
Putin is a thief!
"Or even"
Freedom!
”, Although their exact number is difficult to estimate because of the surrounding disorder.
5,000 arrests, a record "in the history of modern Russia"
In the early evening, the Navalny team announced the end of the demonstration in Moscow.
“
We showed them how many there were!
", She blurted out on Telegram, calling on supporters of the opponent to go and support him when he appeared in court on Tuesday.
According to the organization OVD-Info, which specializes in monitoring demonstrations, at least 5,289 people were arrested in 88 cities, but mainly in Moscow (1712) and Saint Petersburg (1164).
A record figure "
in the history of modern Russia,
" she notes.
Alexeï Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaïa, was notably arrested by the police before being released a few hours later.
Alexeï Navalny is the target of multiple legal proceedings, which he considers to be of a political nature.
The protest actions are also fueled by the dissemination of an investigation by his team accusing President Vladimir Poutine of benefiting from a huge "
palace
" on the shores of the Black Sea, which he denies.
Anti-corruption activist and sworn enemy of the Kremlin, Alexeï Navalny, 44, returned to Russia on January 17 after months of convalescence in Germany for suspected poisoning for which he accuses Vladimir Putin and the Russian security services of being responsible.
