MOSCOW (AP) – Authorities in Russia have taken extensive measures to curb protests against opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s imprisonment scheduled by his supporters for Saturday in more than 60 Russian cities.
Navalny’s employees in Moscow and other regions have been detained in the run-up to the meetings. Opposition supporters and independent journalists have been approached by police officers with official warnings against protest.
Universities and colleges in various Russian regions have urged students not to attend meetings, and some say disciplinary action, including expulsion, can be taken.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that “it is only natural that there are warnings … about the possible consequences of non-compliance with the law” as calls for “illicit, illegal events”.
Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner and the Kremlin’s fiercest critic, was arrested on Sunday when he returned to Russia from Germany, where he had spent nearly five months recovering from a nerve poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. On Monday, a judge gave Navalny a 30-day prison sentence.
He is facing a jail term of years – authorities charged him with violating the terms of a suspended sentence in a 2014 financial crime conviction, including during his recovery in Germany.
Navalny supporters have called for nationwide demonstrations on Saturday to pressure the government to release the politician, but have come under pressure themselves.
On Thursday evening, Moscow police detained three top Navalny employees. On Friday, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh was ordered to spend nine days in prison, and Georgy Alburov was sentenced to ten days in prison. Navalny’s ally Lyubov Sobol was released on Thursday night but ordered by a court on Friday to pay a fine equal to $ 3,300. All three have been charged with violating protest rules.
More than a dozen activists and Navalny allies have also been detained in various Russian regions.
The Russian Attorney General and the police have issued public warnings against attending or calling for unauthorized meetings. Prosecutors have also demanded Roskomnadzor, the Russian media and internet watchdog, to restrict access to websites calling for protest on Saturday.
On Friday, Russia’s largest social network VKontakte blocked all pages devoted to the meetings.
Roskomnadzor also announced it would fine social media companies for encouraging minors to participate in the protests. The move came amid media reports of calls for demonstrations – and videos of school students replacing portraits of President Vladimir Putin in their class with those of Navalny – that went viral among teenagers on the social network TikTok.
The Russian Ministry of Education has released a statement calling on parents to “protect” their children from Saturday’s events, stating that “no one has the right to drag young people into various political actions and provocations”.
And the Commission of Inquiry has opened a criminal investigation into the “involvement of minors in illegal activities,” accusing unidentified Navalny supporters of encouraging minors to participate in the social media gatherings.
Also on Friday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin urged Muscovites not to attend the meeting, in a video statement from TV channel Moskva24. Citing concerns about the coronavirus, Sobyanin called the upcoming demonstration “illegal” and said “law enforcement agencies will bring necessary order to the city.”
Navalny’s allies are telling supporters not to be discouraged and appear on Saturday.
‘Do not be afraid. Leave it to the Kremlin. We are right, and we are the majority, ”Lyubov Sobol wrote in a Facebook post.
Dozens of influential Russians, including actors, musicians, journalists, writers, athletes and popular bloggers, have made statements in support of Navalny, with some pledging to attend the demonstrations.