Mass detention of Navalny supporters reported in Russia
On July 8, supporters of opposition politician Alexei Navalny were detained en masse by police in cities across Russia, Radio Liberty reports.
About thirty volunteers from Alexei Navalny’s election headquarters were detained in in Moscow.
On Saturday, a lawyer for Navalny’s local staff was also detained in Yekaterinburg. Opposition supporters additionally claimed that a car in which volunteers were transporting leaflets was stopped, and that the propaganda materials were confiscated. The day prior, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) raided the headquarters location.
It has been noted that a car carrying leaflets was also stopped in Izhevsk. Meanwhile in Tyumen, two activists participating in Navalny’s “agitation day" were detained for personal examination, according to MediaZona news website.
In Volgograd, a garage storing furniture from the opposition's headquarters was searched under the pretext of an investigation into the publication of a collage depicting the sculpture the Motherland Calls drenched in green paint. Local activist Alexei Volkov wrote about this on Twitter. Later, he clarified that the MIA officials did not take anything.
Since the beginning of this week, the police have been conducting searches and detentions in cities where Alexei Navalny's election headquarters operate. Supporters of the opposition consider this an attempt to disrupt campaigning, which is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
On July 7, it was reported in Russia that the head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, opposition politician Alexei Navalny, was released from a special detention center after 25 days of administrative arrest on charges of organizing an anti-corruption action in Moscow on June 12.
Navalny was detained on June 12 shortly before a protest by his supporters on Tverskaya Street in the center of Moscow that had not been cleared with the Russian authorities. The police then detained more than 700 people. Human rights advocates and activists have accused the police of disproportionately harsh actions.
Navalny was found guilty under an article on "the repeated violation of the procedure for holding mass actions." He was sentenced to 30 days of administrative arrest. The Moscow City Court later reduced this period by 5 days.