Over 1,000 Detentions Made During Pro-Navalny Protest In St. Petersburg - Ombudsman

ST. PETERSBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st February, 2021) More than 1,000 people were detained during the unauthorized protest organized in Russia's St. Petersburg on Sunday, according to preliminary data from the office of Human Rights Ombudsman in St. Petersburg Alexander Shishlov.

Ombudsman's representatives observed the Sunday demonstrations and noted that there were provocations both on the part of civilians participating in the authorized protest, and law enforcement officers.

"According to preliminary data, no less than 7,000 people participated in the protest, more than 1,000 were detained," the ombudsman's office said in a statement.

According to St. Petersburg court data, the total number of people arrested following the unauthorized demonstrations in the city has reached 24.

At least three attacks on law enforcement officers were recorded during the unauthorized protest in St. Petersburg, one suspect has been detained, a source told Sputnik on Sunday. Earlier in the day, a Sputnik correspondent reported that a police officer got injured in Saint Isaac's SquareI (Isaakiyevskaya Ploshchad) .

The police of St. Petersburg on Sunday refuted to Sputnik media reports about the alleged use of flashbang grenades and pepper spray to disperse a crowd participating in the unauthorized rally in Sennaya Square.

On Sunday, Russia saw its second wave of unauthorized protests in support of opposition figure Alexey Navalny, who was detained in Moscow earlier this year upon his arrival from Germany, where he was treated for his alleged poisoning. Before Navalny's return, the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service warned it would arrest him for probation violations as he was previously found guilty of committing two administrative offenses.

Commenting on the January 23 pro-Navalny protests, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that everyone has the right to express their opinion but "anything that goes beyond the law is not just counterproductive but dangerous." The president's spokesman Dmitry Peskov called organizers of such unauthorized protests provocateurs.