UPDATE - US Slams Russia For Using Force Against Pro-Navalny Protesters - State Department

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th January, 2021) The United States has condemned what it calls forceful suppression of protests held across Russia in support of detained opposition activist Alexey Navalny and urged Russian authorities to release all detained protesters, the US State Department said.

Unauthorized rallies took place in dozens of Russian cities on Saturday. The Russian Foreign Ministry warned against foreign meddling, condemning the US embassy for publishing maps of the protests and saying that US diplomats would be summoned over the incident. The US embassy published locations of the protests and advised US citizens to avoid these locations.

"The United States strongly condemns the use of harsh tactics against protesters and journalists this weekend in cities throughout Russia ... Continued efforts to suppress Russians' rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, the arrest of opposition figure Aleksey Navalny, and the crackdown on protests that followed are troubling indications of further restrictions on civil society and fundamental freedoms," the US State Department said on Saturday.

The statement said that by suppressing Russians' rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, the Russian authorities are violating OSCE commitments, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

"We call on Russian authorities to release all those detained for exercising their universal rights and for the immediate and unconditional release of Aleksey Navalny. We urge Russia to fully cooperate with the international community's investigation into the poisoning of Aleksey Navalny and credibly explain the use of a chemical weapon on its soil," the US State Department said.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has also called for the release of protesters detained during the Saturday unauthorized rallies held across Russia.

"The UK condemns the Russian authorities' use of violence against peaceful protesters and journalists. We call on @GovernmentRF to respect its international commitments on human rights in @coe [Council of Europe] and @OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe], and release citizens detained during peaceful demonstrations," Raab said on Twitter.

On Saturday, many Russian cities were hit by protests in support of opposition figure Alexey Navalny, who was detained in Moscow this past Sunday upon his arrival at Sheremetyevo International Airport. Prior to Navalny's return to Russia from Germany, where he was treated for his alleged poisoning, the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service warned it would arrest him for probation violations as he was previously found guilty of committing two administrative offenses.

On Monday, a court in Russia ruled to keep Navalny in detention for 30 days. On January 29, a Moscow court is expected to decide whether Navalny's suspended sentence should be replaced with prison time for breach of suspension conditions.

The US State Department, European Council President Charles Michel, as well as an array of western foreign ministries and ministers have called on the Russian authorities to release Navalny.

Commenting on the West's reaction, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called it an attempt to shift attention from the crisis of the liberal model of development. According to the diplomat, his Western counterparts are visibly "happy" to churn out nearly identical statements.

In relation to various comments on Navalny's detention, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has advised foreign officials to respect international law and focus on domestic issues.

Dozens of people, both protesters and law enforcement officers, were injured during the Saturday pro-Navalny demonstrations in Moscow. Police have detained dozens of protesters.