By Deutsche Welle
Feb 18, 2024, 11:42 AM EST
The NGO OVD-Info, which protects the rights of opponents in Russia, reported this Sunday (02/18/2024) that There are already at least 401 people arrested since Friday for trying to pay tribute to the late dissident leader Alexei Navalni. In addition, security forces have attempted to remove all memorials created by supporters of the late leader.
The arrests have been made in 36 cities in the countryadded the NGO, which has been declared a foreign agent by the Russian authorities and publishes the lists of detainees with their full names. More than half of the arrests (201) were carried out in Saint Petersburg, the hometown of the leader of the Russian regime, Vladimir Putin.
Many people pay tribute to the opposition leader laying flowers or placing candles in designated places in their cities, while thousands of Russians in exile have taken to the streets to protest what they consider a murder commissioned by the Kremlin. Navalny, 47, died suddenly in the Arctic prison to which he had been sent last December.
Visit of the United States ambassador
Among the people present at an improvised memorial this day was the United States ambassador to Russia, Lunne Tracywho arrived at the Solovetsky Stone, a monument in tribute to the repression during the Soviet period that has become a place of pilgrimage for Navalny’s supporters.
“Today at the Solovetsky Stone we mourn the death of Alexei Navalny and for the other victims of political repression in Russia,” the embassy said in a post on social media. “We extend our deepest condolences to the family, his colleagues and supporters of Alexei Navalny. His strength is an example of inspiration. Today we honor his memory,” added the American delegation.
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