OVD-Info: 14 people were detained in Russia at memorial rallies on the second anniversary of Navalny’s murder

Police detained 14 people at rallies in memory of Alexei Navalny held across Russia on the second anniversary of the politician's murder, according to the OVD-Info human rights project, which tracks arrest data.

In Volgograd, while laying flowers at the monument to victims of political repression, a local resident named Andrey (his last name is not indicated) was detained. He was taken to the police department and released a couple of hours later, without explaining the reason for his detention.

According to Andrey, he was given an explanatory note and fingerprints, and also photographed. “One of the security officials told Andrey facts from his biography that cannot be found in official databases - his old hair color, his telegram username and comments left in the same messenger under one of the videos,” writes OVD-Info.

In St. Petersburg, a local resident was detained for photographing a fenced memorial to victims of political repression. He was released without a protocol.

Later, 22-year-old Alexandra Churakova was detained at the monument when she tried to leave a photograph of Navalny. It is assumed that she may be charged with an article on displaying prohibited symbols (Part 1 of Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code). The lawyer was not allowed to see the detainee.

In Moscow, police detained two people: journalist Grigory Potemkin (he was released without a protocol) and a picketer who held a rally in memory of Navalny at the main entrance to VDNKh. He came out with a banner “Russia will be free! 02/16/2024.” The picketer turned out to be a minor. His father, who came to the department to pick up the teenager, was subject to a report on “failure to fulfill duties” to raise the child (Part 1 of Article 5.35 of the Code of Administrative Offenses).

In Ufa, nine people were detained during the day while laying flowers. Seven were given a warning and released without a protocol; another two were not allowed to see a lawyer.

Activist from Voronezh Nikita Nesmeyanov said that he faced pressure from security forces when laying flowers in memory of Navalny. He was filmed on his phone, demanded to show his documents under threat of detention, and a masked security official also threw away the flowers that the activist had left at the monument to the poet Osip Mandelstam.