Hundreds of anti-war protesters arrested across Russia

Impartial monitoring group OVD-Information says 756 individuals have been arrested throughout 37 cities, with about half of arrests in Moscow.

Law enforcement officials detain a lady throughout a protest towards Russian navy motion in Ukraine, in Manezhnaya Sq. in central Moscow [AFP]

Greater than 750 individuals have been arrested in cities throughout Russia for protesting towards Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which is now in its third week.

Impartial monitoring group OVD-Information mentioned police had arrested no less than 756 individuals throughout demonstrations in 37 Russian cities – with about half of them in the Russian capital Moscow.

Since President Vladimir Putin ordered a land, air and sea invasion of Ukraine on February 24, OVD-Information has reported greater than 14,000 arrests in reference to anti-war actions, in keeping with its web site. Of those, greater than 170 individuals have been remanded in custody.

The Kremlin handed a regulation introduced into drive on March 4 criminalising unbiased warfare reporting and protests towards the warfare, with penalties of as much as 15 years in jail.

Law enforcement officials detain a person throughout a protest towards Russian navy motion in Ukraine, in Manezhnaya Sq. in central Moscow [AFP]

“It’s very troublesome for individuals to go to the streets and protest,” mentioned Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith, reporting from Moscow.

“Anybody making an attempt to exit or trying like a protester has been violently dragged away,” he mentioned, including that in a single occasion, a lady was dragged away only for holding a clean piece of white paper.

An AFP information company journalist current at a protest within the capital Moscow witnessed no less than a dozen arrests and mentioned police have been taking away anyone with out press papers.

A younger lady was shouting “peace to the world” as she was taken away by two policemen, in keeping with AFP.

A number of the riot police had the letter “Z” within the colors of the Russian flag on their helmets, the AFP reporter mentioned. The letter, seen on Russian tanks in Ukraine, has develop into an emblem of assist for what Moscow calls its “particular navy operation” to “denazify” Ukraine.

We have a look at why the letter ‘Z’ has been embraced by supporters of Russia’s warfare in Ukraine ⤵️

Learn extra: https://t.co/RpwnnVR6jwpic.twitter.com/spX4nfHNx7

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 13, 2022

In Russia’s second metropolis Saint Petersburg, AFP reported a number of arrests, together with that of a protester who was dragged throughout the bottom. The town’s central Nevsky Avenue was closed off by police, with a dozen police vans parked alongside the highway. In accordance with AFP, a number of journalists have been additionally detained.

Wearing a yellow hat and blue jacket, 20-year-old Kristina mentioned she was “expressing her protest” by carrying the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

“It’s scary to go outdoors, in fact, they're detaining everybody. A lot of my associates have been detained previously few days, some have been even expelled from college,” she informed AFP.

Final weekend, police arrested greater than 5,000 protesters throughout Russia.

Russian policemen detain a protesters throughout a rally towards the Russian navy motion in Ukraine, in Saint Petersburg [Anatoly Maltsev/EPA]