Over 200 people mourning Navalny’s death were arrested by police at vigils in Russia, per a local human-rights group.
More than 200 supporters of Russia’s leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny were arrested as they were gathered to mourn the death of the activist, which was confirmed by Moscow authorities on Friday.
The mass arrests recall the Russian authorities’ crackdown on protests that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. More than 1,300 people were arrested for demonstrating against a partial mobilization of reservists called for by President Vladimir Putin.
Videos shared on social media show people crowding makeshift memorials for Navalny in Moscow and St. Petersburg in peaceful tributes disrupted by the police intervention. Footage shows Russian officers aggressively tackling peaceful protesters.
Reuters, who had a reporter on the scene, said that 30 people were arrested during a gathering in St. Petersburg. OVD-Info said the highest numbers of arrests were made in Moscow and St. Petersburg, with respectively 47 and 59 people detained.
Navalny, 47, was possibly the most-prominent figure of the Russian political opposition to Putin’s rule. At the time of his death, he was serving a cumulative three-decade sentence for fraud, inciting and financing extremism, and other charges that were widely considered politically motivated.
