Nearly 6,000 detained in Russia as anti-war protests reach 61 cities: Report

Anti-war protests in Russia against Moscow’s decision to move troops into Ukraine has resulted in the arrest of nearly 6,000 people in just four days, reports suggest.

As per independent human rights watchdog OVD-Info, Russian authorities have arrested as many as 5,845 protesters since Russian troops moved into Ukraine. Among the detainees, there are at least 31 minors and 17 journalists, the watchdog further reported.

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OVD-Info further reported that detainees were being slapped with various charges ranging from violation of rally participation rules to violation of rules of conduct in case of emergency or the threat of emergency. Some are even being charged for violating COVID-19 restrictions.

The watchdog reported that detainees could face fines ranging from 2,000 to 300,000 rubles depending on the charges they face, while some could also face imprisonment for 15-30 days.

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Since the Russian invasion began on the morning of February 24, anti-war protests in Russia have mushroomed, and had spread to 61 cities across the country at the time of writing this.

OVD-Info further reported that detainees were also being mistreated in several cities: while many detainees had been beaten by the police in Moscow, St Petersburg, Tyumen, and Yekaterinburg, several police departments Moscow, St Petersburg, Saratov, Voronezh, and Yekaterinburg also denied detainees access to their lawyers for several hours.

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OVD-Info was founded by Moscow-based journalist Grigory Okhotin and programmer Daniil Beilinson in 2011. The organisation, which covered protests in Russia between 2011-2013, specializes in coverage of politically motivated persecution, as well as in the reporting of abuse by Russian authorities.

However, of late, it has come under fire from the Russian government, and in 2021, the Russian Ministry of Justice designated OVD-Info as a “foreign agent,” which critics say was a move to stifle dissent.