Russia: at least 180 detained during opposition rally in Moscow

Russian security forces arrested at least this Saturday 180 people who participated in the Municipal Forum on Russia organized by the opposition, as reported by the civilian organization OVD-Info. Almost all of the participants were arrested, according to the Interior Ministry.

The forum was scheduled for Saturday and Sunday and in the same advisers from across the country were represented, Open Russia director Andrei Pivovarov explained in statements to the station Eco from Mosú. Pivovarov is the organizer of the forum, his organization is based in the UK and receives funding from Russian millionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

The forum was already functioning when the police broke into the hotel that was hosting it and began arresting participants, leading them to the vans moved for this purpose. “The police came to the forum of city councilors held in Moscow. There are 150 people from all over the country. They are all detained. Everyone, everyone, ”denounced the opponent Ilia Yashin via her Twitter account.

According to Open Russia, dozens of police officers appeared at the Izmáilovo hotel arguing that the act had been called by an “unwanted” organization.

Among the detainees are figures such as Muscovite Ilya Yashin, a close ally in the assassination of Boris Nemtsov; Vladimir Kara-Murza, who usually resides in the United States, and the former mayor of Yekaterinburg, Yevgueni Roizman. Some of them reported their release after spending several hours in detention.

Open Russia is one of more than 30 organizations considered by the Russian government to be “undesirable” and therefore illegal in Russia under a law passed in 2015. This rule and the Foreign Agents Act are used to persecute dissident political organizations.

“The police clearly went to torpedo the act. What i remember This is the first time that a full forum has been held in Russia, from speakers to participants and organizers», Commented Tatiana Usmánova, one of the organizers of the event.

Kremlin agents have started a process of all those arrested for cooperating with an undesirable organization, a charge that carries a cash fine. The forum, intended to prepare for the legislative and local electoral campaign in September, was to be held today and tomorrow Sunday.

With information from EuropaPress and EFE

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