BRUSSELS: The European Union on Monday urged Russia “to release without delay” what it said in a statement were peaceful demonstrators detained a day earlier during nationwide protests against corruption.
Top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who has announced plans to run for president in a 2018 election, was among hundreds arrested in Moscow during one of the country’s biggest unauthorized rallies in recent years.
An EU spokesman said the police action had “prevented the exercise of basic freedoms of expression” association and peaceful assembly — which are fundamental rights enshrined in the Russian constitution.”
“We call on the Russian authorities to abide fully by the international commitments it has made, including in the Council of Europe... to uphold these rights and to release without delay the peaceful demonstrators that have been detained,” it added.
Navalny had called for the marches after publishing a detailed report this month accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of controlling a property empire through a shadowy network of non-profit organizations.
The report has been viewed over 11 million times on YouTube, but so far Medvedev has made no comment on the claims.
Police said the turnout at the Moscow protest was around 7,000-8,000.
Navalny was arrested as he was walking to the protest, with officers putting him in a minibus which the crowd briefly tried to block from driving off, shouting “Shame!” and “Let him out!“
Police said about 500 people had been arrested in Moscow, while OVD-Info, a website that monitors the detention of activists, said at least 933 had been detained, as well as dozens in other cities.
The Interfax news agency said 130 people were arrested in Saint Petersburg, where about 4,000 people gathered in the city center.
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EU urges Russia to release protesters ‘without delay’
EU urges Russia to release protesters ‘without delay’
Trump’s new envoy arrives in South Africa with relations frayed
JOHANNESBURG: A conservative media critic picked by President Donald Trump to be US ambassador to South Africa has arrived to take up his post, the US embassy said Tuesday, as relations between the countries remain fraught.
Brent Bozell’s arrival has been keenly awaited with ties between South Africa and the United States becoming increasingly strained after Trump returned to office in January 2025.
“I’m confirming that he’s in country,” a US embassy official told AFP. Trump’s new envoy arrives in South Africa to frayed relations
Trump announced that he had chosen Bozell for the job in March, soon after expelling South Africa’s ambassador on accusations that he was critical of Washington. Pretoria has yet to announce a successor.
Trump said at the time that Bozell “brings fearless tenacity, extraordinary experience, and vast knowledge to a nation that desperately needs it.”
The ambassador-designate still needs to present his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa before officially taking up his post.
The embassy and South Africa’s foreign ministry could not say when this would happen.
Bozell, 70, is founder of the Media Research Center, a non-profit that says it works to “expose and counter the leftist bias of the national news media.”
One of the several sticking points between Washington and Pretoria is South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Bozell is reported to be a strong defender of Israel. Pretoria expelled Israel’s top diplomat last month, citing a “series of violations.”
The Trump administration boycotted South Africa’s G20 in Johannesburg last year and has not invited the nation to its own hosting of the group of leading economies this year.
The United States is South Africa’s second-biggest trading partner by country after China.
The previous ambassador, Reuben Brigety, resigned in November 2024, just before Trump took office.
Brent Bozell’s arrival has been keenly awaited with ties between South Africa and the United States becoming increasingly strained after Trump returned to office in January 2025.
“I’m confirming that he’s in country,” a US embassy official told AFP. Trump’s new envoy arrives in South Africa to frayed relations
Trump announced that he had chosen Bozell for the job in March, soon after expelling South Africa’s ambassador on accusations that he was critical of Washington. Pretoria has yet to announce a successor.
Trump said at the time that Bozell “brings fearless tenacity, extraordinary experience, and vast knowledge to a nation that desperately needs it.”
The ambassador-designate still needs to present his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa before officially taking up his post.
The embassy and South Africa’s foreign ministry could not say when this would happen.
Bozell, 70, is founder of the Media Research Center, a non-profit that says it works to “expose and counter the leftist bias of the national news media.”
One of the several sticking points between Washington and Pretoria is South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Bozell is reported to be a strong defender of Israel. Pretoria expelled Israel’s top diplomat last month, citing a “series of violations.”
The Trump administration boycotted South Africa’s G20 in Johannesburg last year and has not invited the nation to its own hosting of the group of leading economies this year.
The United States is South Africa’s second-biggest trading partner by country after China.
The previous ambassador, Reuben Brigety, resigned in November 2024, just before Trump took office.
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