RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Russian authorities lock up opposition leaders for organising a peaceful rally

11 Oct 2017

[International Secretariat]

Region: RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Topic:

The news comes as no surprise. It is a blatant attempt by the Russian authorities to suppress and suffocate any dissenting voices and intimidate people trying to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” said Denis Krivosheev, Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International.

The activists’ imprisonment embodies the everyday harassment of civil society across the country, including many of Navalny’s supporters. Over the last few months, scores of activists across Russia have been subjected to arbitrary detention, over-the-top fines, beatings and intimidation.”

“This is the third time this year that Aleksei Navalny has been thrown behind bars solely for peacefully exercising his rights.

Background

Aleksei Navalny, and aspiring presidential candidate was detained by police on 29 September in the lobby of his apartment building. He was on his way to take part in a rally in Nizhnii Novgorod (Central Russia).

His chief of campaigns, Leonid Volkov, was briefly detained on the same day.

The rally had been agreed with the local authorities, in accordance with the overly restrictive Russian law which requires the authorities’ express prior permission. However, earlier that week, the Nizhnii Novgorod city administration withdrew its permission for the rally, a move that Navalny described as unlawful. The rally went ahead. According to eyewitnesses, around dozen peaceful demonstrators were detained by police.

Navalny and Volkov’s detention comes days before another rally he was organizing in St Petersburg, on Saturday 7 October, the birthday of President Vladimir Putin. The local authorities have not yet replied to the organisers request to hold the rally.

3 October 2017
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE