400 detained amid tributes to Navalny
MORE than 400 people have been detained in Russia while paying tribute to opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a prominent rights group reported. The sudden death of Navalny, 47, on Friday at the remote Arctic prison colony where he was serving a jail term, was a crushing blow to many Russians, who had pinned their hopes for the future on President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe.
The news of his death reverberated across the globe and hundreds of people in dozens of Russian cities streamed to ad hoc memorials and monuments to victims of political repression with flowers and candles on Friday and Saturday to pay tribute to the politician.
Police had detained 401 people In more than a dozen cities by Saturday night, according to the OVD- Info rights group that tracks political arrests and provides legal aid. More than 200 arrests were made in St Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, the group said.
Among those detained there was Grigory Mikhnov- Voitenko, a priest of the Apostolic Orthodox Church – a religious group independent of the Russian Orthodox Church – who announced plans on social media to hold a memorial service for Navalny.
He was arrested on Saturday morning outside his home and charged with organising a rally and placed in a police holding cell, but was later taken to hospital after suffering a stroke, OVD- Info reported.
Courts in St Petersburg have ordered 42 of those detained on Friday to serve from one to six days in jail, while nine others were fined, court officials said.
In Moscow, at least six people were ordered to serve 15 days in jail, according to OVD- Info.