Fresh pro-Navalny protests coming up in Russia

Monitoring Desk

Authorities have ordered seven metro stations shut, while police asked Moscow cafes to turn off their wifi connections. Meanwhile, the editor of independent outlet Mediazona was arrested and later released on Saturday.

Russian police are bracing for more protests in support of detained opposition leader Alexei Navalny, after thousands were arrested during demonstrations a week ago. 

Authorities have ordered seven metro stations in the center of Moscow to be shut on Sunday, while several streets around the seat of the government in the Kremlin will be blocked off.

Additionally, police asked Moscow cafes to turn off their internet connections on Sunday, and businesses, restaurants and cafes in the areas around the protest zones will be shut. 

Police were going to cafes in civilian clothes, showing their ID cards and asking to speak with managers about turning off internet connections ahead of the protests, Interfax news agency said.

The measures mark an attempt to reduce the possible routes and communication methods of protesters in the capital. Russian authorities are trying to prevent the demonstrations and reduce the number of people taking to the streets. 

The US embassy in Moscow warned Americans of the possibility of being arrested, listing the exact meeting place and times of the demonstrations, in a move which angered the Russian Foreign Ministry. 

Protests are currently planned in around 80 cities. In Moscow, demonstrators plan to gather near the FSB domestic intelligence service headquarters near the Kremlin. 

Mediazona editor arrested

The protests will follow the arrest of Mediazona editor-in-chief Sergey Smirnov on Saturday. Smirnov was detained earlier in the day on suspicion of taking part in a protest in Moscow last weekend, the media outlet said. He was released later in the day.

The editor could face up to 30 days in jail, a hefty fine or compulsory labor. Mediazona is an independent media outlet, founded by two members of the punk rock band Pussy Riot. It often publishes work critical of the Russian judicial and political system. 

Last week, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators protested in support of Navalny. A record 4,002 people were arrested for their involvement in the protests. Navalny, 44, returned to Russia earlier this month after receiving treatment in Germany following a Novichok poisoning. He was immediately arrested upon his arrival in Moscow and sentenced to a pretrial detention. 

His brother was also sentenced to two months of house arrest on Friday for violating coronavirus regulations during last weekend’s mass demonstrations. 

Courtesy: DW