- Title: Russians detained for pickets in solidarity with jailed journalist
- Date: 29th May 2020
- Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (MAY 29, 2020) (REUTERS) POLICE ESCORTING DETAINED PROTESTER TO POLICE VAN, PROTESTER SAYING (Russian): "ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 31 OF THE CONSTITUTION, YOUR ACTIONS ARE ILLEGAL! INTRODUCE YOURSELF!" POLICE ESCORTING PROTESTER VARIOUS OF PROTESTER SITTING UNDER UMBRELLA NEAR MOSCOW POLICE HEADQUARTERS PROTESTER TALKING TO REPORTER / POLICEMEN IN MASKS AND GLOVE DETAINING PROTESTER, CARRYING HIM TO VAN PIECE OF CARDBOARD ON WHICH PROTESTER WAS SITTING POLICE OFFICERS WEARING MASKS MEDIA FILMING PROTESTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) TIMIRYAZEVSKY DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBER, YULIA GALYAMINA, SAYING (WEARING FACE MASK WITH WORD 'LIBERTY' WRITTEN ON IT): "It is called solidarity and this is the only way to defend our right. Therefore I urge everyone not to be afraid and show solidarity by all possible means if you can." GALYAMINA TALKING TO MEDIA POLICEMAN VARIOUS OF POLICE ESCORTING GALYAMINA TO POLICE VAN VARIOUS OF POLICE DETAINING WOMAN HOLDING PLACARD READING (Russian): "PROTEST FOR PROTEST" POLICE TAKING MAN TO VAN MEDIA FILMING PEOPLE INSIDE VAN POLICE DETAINING MAN, JOURNALIST ASKING WHY WAS HE DETAINED, MAN SAYING (Russian): "I CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE REFERENDUM" POLICEMAN SAYING OVER LOUDSPEAKER (Russian): "DEAR CITIZENS, THE HIGH-ALERT MODE AND SELF-ISOLATION REGIME CONTINUE, THIS ACTION IS ILLEGAL, PLEASE LEAVE." (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) MOSCOW CITY DUMA (PARLIAMENT) MEMBER, YEVGENY STUPIN, SAYING: "The right to picket may be limited only by federal law, and it was not restricted by federal law. Mayor's orders (banning public events during the coronavirus epidemic) is illegal, and the policemen acting as criminals." PROTESTER, DENIS PETROV, BEING DETAINED, JOURNALIST ASKING (Russian): "ARE YOU A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER? WHY DID YOU COME? ARE YOU AN ACTIVIST?", PETROV SAYING (Russian): "I AM A CONCERNED CITIZEN." VARIOUS OF POLICE DETAINING PEOPLE, ESCORTING THEM TO VAN WOMAN HOLDING PLACARD READING (Russian): "PICKET IS NOT A CRIME" / POLICE DETAINING WOMAN POLICE ESCORTING WOMAN TO VAN POLICE DETAINING DEPUTY CHIEF EDITOR AND JOURNALIST OF THE 'ECHO OF MOSCOW' RADIO STATION, TATYANA FELGENGAUER AND ALEXANDER PLYUSHCHEV VARIOUS OF POLICEMAN NEAR AMBULANCE VARIOUS OF POLICE CROWDING PEOPLE OUT
- Embargoed: 12th June 2020 15:31
- Keywords: Moscow Russia jailed journalist one-person protest pickets protests
- Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- City: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001CFZI8UF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:More than thirty people, including at least two city district councils members, were detained on Friday (May 29) during protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg, independent monitoring group OVD-info reported.
People were staging pickets to support a prominent anti-Kremlin journalist Ilya Azar who has been sent for 15 days in prison earlier this week.
Protests continue for the second day in a row and more than 20 people were detained on Thursday as well, according to OVD-info.
A Moscow court on Thursday jailed Azar for a one-person protest during the city's coronavirus lockdown.
Azar, a journalist at the Novaya Gazeta newspaper and a member of the city council of Khamovniki district, was detained by police on Tuesday as he stood alone outside the Russian capital's police headquarters to protest against the criminal prosecution of a popular blogger.
Such one-person protests are usually legal in Russia, but Sergei Sobyanin, the city's mayor, has banned public events during the coronavirus epidemic and said that people only have the right to leave their homes for specific tasks, which do not include political protests.
(Production: Lev Sergeev, Anastasia Adasheva) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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