MOSCOW (AP) – Russian authorities have taken elaborate measures to curb protests against the imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, scheduled by his supporters for Saturday in more than 60 Russian cities.
Navalny’s associates in Moscow and other regions have been arrested before the rallies. Police officers have approached opposition supporters and independent journalists with official warnings against the protest.
Universities and colleges in different Russian regions have urged students not to attend rallies, and some say they may be subject to disciplinary action, including expulsion.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that “it is natural that there are warnings … about the possible consequences related to breaking the law,” as “illegal and unauthorized acts” are being called for.
Navalny, an advocate for the fight against corruption and the fiercest critic of the Kremlin, was arrested Sunday when he returned to Russia from Germany, where he had spent nearly five months recovering from the nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin. On Monday, a judge ordered Navalny prison for 30 days.
He faces up to years in prison: authorities accused him of violating the terms of a suspended sentence in a 2014 conviction for financial misconduct, even when he was convalescing in Germany.
Navalny supporters have called for rallies across the country on Saturday to pressure the government to release the politician, but they themselves have come under pressure.
On Thursday evening, Moscow police arrested three main Navalny partners. On Friday, her spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh was ordered to spend nine days in jail and Georgy Alburov was jailed for ten days. Navalny’s close ally, Lyubov Sobol, was released Thursday night, but a court on Friday ordered him to pay a fine equivalent to $ 3,300. All three have been charged with violating protest regulations.
More than a dozen Navalny activists and allies have also been detained in various Russian regions.
Russian prosecutors and police have issued public warnings against attending or convening unauthorized rallies. Prosecutors have also demanded that Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media and Internet watchdog, restrict access to websites containing calls to protest on Saturday.
On Friday, Russia’s largest social network, VKontakte, blocked all pages dedicated to rallies.
Roskomnadzor also announced that he would fine social media companies for encouraging minors to participate in protests. The move came amid media reports of calls for demonstrations and videos of school students replacing portraits of President Vladimir Putin in his classrooms with those of Navalny, which went viral among teenagers on the network. social TikTok.
Russia’s Ministry of Education has issued a statement urging parents to “protect” their children from Saturday’s events, stating that “no one has the right to drag young people into various political actions and provocations.”
And the Committee of Inquiry has opened a criminal investigation into the “participation of minors in illegal activities,” accusing unidentified supporters of Navalny of encouraging minors to participate in rallies on social media.
Also on Friday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin urged Muscovites not to attend the rally, in a video statement shown on the Moskva24 television channel. Sobyanin cited concerns about the coronavirus, called the next demonstration illegal and said “police agencies will ensure the necessary order in the city.”
Navalny’s allies are telling supporters not to be discouraged and to show up on Saturday.
“Don’t be afraid. Leave it to the Kremlin. We are on the right and we are the majority “, wrote Lyubov Sobol in a post on Facebook.
Dozens of influential Russians, including actors, musicians, journalists, writers, athletes and popular bloggers, have come out with statements in support of Navalny and some have promised to attend the demonstrations.