Moscow Police Arrest More Than 1,300 at Election Protest

[Rogue Valley]

Moscow Police Arrest More Than 1,300 at Election Protest | The New York Times

Saturday’s demonstration came after a wave of arrests of opposition candidates barred from the Moscow election ballot.

A clash Saturday in Moscow as demonstrators demanded ballot access for opposition candidates.

7/27/19
MOSCOW — Lines of riot police officers in body armor and helmets blocked the streets of central Moscow on Saturday, arresting more than 1,300 demonstrators — chasing some of them down alleys — to blunt a protest over the fairness of coming city elections. “We love Russia! They love money!” protesters chanted, a reference to widespread anger over government corruption. Others sat in the streets, awaiting arrest and reading copies of the Constitution. The spark for Saturday’s protest was a decision by election authorities to bar several opposition candidates from running for Moscow’s City Council, asserting that they had falsified signatures on petitions to run — a charge the candidates denied. An independent monitoring group said more than 1,300 people were arrested near City Hall, the intended site of the rally, although many never made it there. As in past protests, the authorities began making arrests blocks away so a large crowd could not form. The protest, which not authorized by the government, was the latest in a series of street demonstrations staged as President Vladimir V. Putin’s approval ratings have dipped amid economic hardship.

Democracy Putin Style[sup]®[/sup] Only the election candidates that Putin's United Russia party endorses are listed on the ballot sheets.


Related: Police Detain Over 1,000 in Crackdown on Moscow Elections Protest | The Moscow Times

A Russian protester showing a riot policeman the Russian Constitution.

 

[Lutherf]

Moscow Police Arrest More Than 1,300 at Election Protest | The New York Times

Saturday’s demonstration came after a wave of arrests of opposition candidates barred from the Moscow election ballot.


A clash Saturday in Moscow as demonstrators demanded ballot access for opposition candidates.



Democracy Putin Style[sup]®[/sup] Only the election candidates that Putin's United Russia party endorses are listed on the ballot sheets.


Related: Police Detain Over 1,000 in Crackdown on Moscow Elections Protest | The Moscow Times



A Russian protester showing a riot policeman the Russian Constitution.

Out of curiosity, which part in the US is it that has made efforts to leave Trump off the ballots in their states?

 

[j brown's body]

Trump looks on with envy.

 

[Winston]

Trump looks on with envy.

hehe, so true.

 

[Rogue Valley]

Out of curiosity, which part in the US is it that has made efforts to leave Trump off the ballots in their states?

This is the Russia/Ukraine forum. There are plenty of forums to discuss the US or Trump.

This isn't one of those forums.

 

[Rogue Valley]

‘The Political Regime Against the People’: The Reactions to Moscow’s Election Protest and Crackdown

Protester being arrested in Moscow on Saturday.

7/29/19
A mass protest that rocked Moscow on Saturday was marked by one of the biggest crackdowns in recent years against an increasingly defiant opposition decrying President Vladimir Putin's tight grip on power. The protest, which demanded that the authorities allow opposition-minded candidates onto the ballot in Moscow’s city council elections, has drawn international attention to what would have otherwise been a minor race. Videos showing riot police detaining nearly 1,400 protesters, sometimes using aggressive tactics, have sparked outcry both inside and outside Russia. Russian state-run media has either ignored the events in Moscow or focused on demonstrators' provocations of violence, while Russian officials have largely stayed silent. Police estimated that more than 3,500 people attended, adding that around 700 people were journalists and bloggers. Activists said the number attending was likely much higher, as police had dispersed the crowd onto several side streets.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow criticized the authorities’ crackdown, calling the detentions “disproportionate police force [that] undermine rights of citizens to participate in the democratic process.” The European Union said the violence and the police raids against opposition politicians “once again seriously undermine the fundamental freedoms of expression, association and assembly.” The 28-member bloc called for “a level playing field” in the Sept. 8 vote. Britain’s Foreign Office expressed “concern” with the mass roundups and said the Russian government “continues to disregard the rights of its people.”

There were many injuries to protesters from broken legs to cracked skulls.

Don't forget, it was France and Germany that just recently voted to allow Russia back into the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), a human rights assembly.

Related: Moscow's 'Disproportionate' Use Of Force Condemned After 1,300 Detained During Opposition Protests

 

[Rogue Valley]

Russian journalist Anna Nemtsova.....

"This is a unique situation. Yesterday Moscow felt like North Korea. Detentions began the night before. Protesters came out without leaders, whose houses were searched and they were arrested. Most young people came out because they support Alexei Navalny but his candidates weren't registered for the Moscow City Council elections. Up to 600 people came from other cities. Youths were genuine, they wanted the chance to vote in fair election. Most of the upcoming September election candidates are having big issues: legal cases opened against them, they have fines to pay, or are sitting behind bars. Navalny was in detention and hospitalized with 'allergic reactions'."