Kremlin 'justifies' police crackdown on Navalny protesters; call action ‘framework of law'

Amid mass arbitrary arrests by use of lethal tactics and coercion, excessive brutality against the pro-Navalny protesters, Kremlin on February 2 ‘justified’ the police violence calling the action ‘a framework of law’. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday told state reporters that the mass protests were ‘unauthorized’ and citizens illegally congregated on the streets demanding the release of Kremlin’s stringiest critic Alexey Navalny, who was sentenced by a court of law to a 2.5-year prison term. 

Tuesday’s demonstrations, following the court’s ruling, witnessed hundreds of police officers uniformed in riot gears and OMON agents stationed throughout central Moscow and St. Petersburg brutally thrashing and detaining protesters and journalists, dragging them, as captured on footages, to the minivans. Russian police, in Moscow’s one of the harshest political crackdown, has detained more than 10,000 citizens since jailing the anti-corruption campaigner Navalny, according to independent political detention monitoring agency OVD-Info.

In shocking camera footage caught by the journalists, the protesters fought the police’s volatile responses by throwing snowballs and shutting down traffic as they shouted anti-Putin slogans in a pro-democracy movement. Heavy military police presence was witnessed, as squads of armed officers fenced off kilometres of pavement with metal barricades, kicking, crushing, and mercilessly beating the protesters flashing anti-government placards, in support of democratic voices. 

[Russian law enforcement use force to arrest a protester. Credit: Twitter/@tlnlndn]

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Scores of Journalists arrested

In the massive police operation, OMON agents resort to using force against the crowd chanting ‘Putin is a thief’, causing them to disjoint and scatter at Moscow’s major junction. Officers, according to ft’s ground reporters, detained passersby into police vans as other members of the crowd shouted warnings. Against those detained, police filed criminal charges for illegal assemble and flouting the COVID-19 restrictions. As many as 82 journalists have been arrested, including the Russian news broadcaster Mediazona’s editor-in-chief, according to sources of FT. Several countries in the west, including the EU, the US, and the UK condemned Tuesday's court verdict against Alexey Navalny, demanding his immediate release, threatening sanctions. Earlier today, after the court’s verdict, Navalny berated Russian authorities for poisoning him. He condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin of being responsible for his persecution —alleging that the Russian leader was imprisoning one to frighten millions. 

[Police detain protesters during a protest against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Credit: AP]

[Russsian Police detain protesters during the crackdown. Credit: AP]

[Russian police beats a protester during the protests. Credit: Twitter/@kforaerlighed]

[Russian police officers make arrests. Credit: AP]

[OMON agents against protesters. Credit: AP]

Read: US Condemns Russia’s 'harsh Tactics' As Protesters Demand Navalny's Release

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(Image Credit: AP)