(ETH) – Russian police have now arrested more than 3,000 people in nationwide protests that are demanding the release of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is considered to be the Kremlin’s most prominent foe.
In Moscow alone, an estimated 15,000 demonstrators have gathered in and around Pushkin Square in the city center, where they have clashed with police leaving demonstrators being dragged off by helmeted riot officers to police buses and detention trucks where many were seen beaten with batons.
Even Navalny’s wife Yulia was among those who have been arrested according to the report from the Associated Press. The latest report revealed that Police muscled back demonstrators out of the square. where thousands eventually regrouped along a wide boulevard about a kilometer (half-mile) away, with many of them seen throwing snowballs at the police before dispersing.
Some of the protestors were seen near the jail where Navalny is held where many were arrested by police. Police made an undetermined number of arrests there. “The situation is getting worse and worse, it’s total lawlessness,” said Andrei Gorkyov, a protester in Moscow.
“And if we stay silent, it will go on forever.” The report from AP stated: “The OVD-Info group, which monitors political arrests, said at least 1,167 people were detained in Moscow and more than 460 at another large demonstration in St. Petersburg”
“Overall, it said 3,068 people had been arrested in some 90 cities, revising the count downward from its earlier report of 3,445. The group did not give an explanation for its revision. Russian police did not provide arrest figures”.
