Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Detained
MEP: Hundreds of protesters have been detained by riot police in cities across Russia, as some of the largest anti-government protests in years swept the country.
In between Russia’s main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, has been arrested during the anti-corruption protest he organised in the capital, Moscow.
A tweet from Navalny’s account after the incident said: “Guys, I’m all right. Don’t try to break me out. Go on walking down the Tverskaya. Our topic today is fight against corruption.”
A monitoring group said at least 850 people were detained in Moscow alone, while the news agency Tass gave a figure of 500.
Most of the marches were organised without official permission.
Meanwhile, The United States harshly criticized Russia’s detention of Navalny and hundreds of other protesters Sunday.
The United States said it was monitoring developments and called on Russia to release all of the protesters. Mark Toner, acting spokesman for the U.S. State Department, called the arrests “an affront to core democratic values.”
“The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve a government that supports an open marketplace of ideas, transparent and accountable governance, equal treatment under the law and the ability to exercise their rights without fear of retribution,” Toner said.
The size and scope of the demonstrations pose a challenge to the Kremlin, a year before elections in which Vladimir Putin is expected to win another six-year term.
