MOSCOW: Russian opposition supporters plan a major protest in Moscow on Saturday after police detained thousands at recent demonstrations that have been among the largest since President Vladimir Putin’s return to the Kremlin in 2012.
In recent weeks, thousands have attended street protests calling for free and fair elections after the exclusion of several opposition figures, including allies of top Putin critic Alexei Navalny, from local Moscow elections next month.
Riot police and the national guard have used more violent tactics than previously and detained more than 2,000 at the last two rallies, which were not authorized by city officials.
Most opposition candidates who have been banned from participating in the vote have been jailed for violating protest laws.
A dozen protesters including university students face criminal charges of “mass disorder” that call for lengthy jail terms, despite their supporters insisting protests were peaceful.
Saturday’s rally has been authorized which means participants should not face detention for protesting at the agreed location, but Navalny, who is currently in jail, has urged supporters to walk peacefully through the city afterwards.
Moscow police and the powerful Investigative Committee issued a warning against participating in unsanctioned protests which it said would be “immediately halted.”
Showing the movement’s appeal to young Russians, popular electronic and rap musicians are expected to play at the rally and mainstream celebrities have announced they will attend.
One of Russia’s most famous rappers, Oxxxymiron, urged his fans to go, as did a star YouTube blogger Yury Dud.
“Let’s not accept it as normal when innocent people are thrown in jail or harshly beaten up by police,” Dud wrote on Instagram to his 2.3 million followers.
The latest demonstrations come as the authorities this week mounted their harshest attack yet on Navalny’s team, focusing on his anti-corruption foundation which publishes investigations of officials close to Putin.
On Thursday investigators raided the foundation’s office as part of a probe into alleged acceptance of donations of laundered money and a court froze the foundation’s accounts.
“This is the most aggressive attempt yet to gag us,” Navalny wrote in a blog entry he issued through lawyers while serving a 30-day sentence.
One of the foundation’s lawyers, Lyubov Sobol, has been on hunger strike for weeks after being refused as a candidate in Moscow.
“These are all acts of political intimidation, political repression,” she told journalists on Friday, condemning the criminal cases launched against activists as “fabricated and politically motivated.”
As he enters his third decade in power, Putin’s approval ratings have dropped significantly in recent months and critics say authorities fear any outlet calling for wider political change.
Moscow has even accused the US of encouraging people to attend protests, after the embassy posted the route of a recent march along with warnings to avoid the area.
“The repressive scenario that the authorities are relying on can probably dampen down open discontent but is hardly likely to reach the root of the problem,” wrote Vedomosti daily in an editorial.
“A large section of society is not represented in power.”
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Russian opposition plans major Moscow protest after crackdown
Russian opposition plans major Moscow protest after crackdown
- In recent weeks, thousands have attended street protests calling for free and fair elections
- Riot police and the national guard have used more violent tactics than previously and detained more than 2,000 at the last two rallies
South Korea court sentences former first lady to jail term for bribery
- Prosecutors had sought a 15-year jail term for the wife of ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol
- Kim Keon Hee has been detained since August and denied all charges
SEOUL: A South Korean court sentenced former first lady Kim Keon Hee on Wednesday to one year and eight months in jail after finding her guilty of accepting Chanel bags and a diamond pendant from Unification Church officials in return for political favors.
The court cleared Kim, the wife of ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol who was ousted from office last year, on charges of stock price manipulation and violating the political funds act.
Prosecutors will appeal against the two not-guilty verdicts, media reports said.
The ruling, which can also be appealed by the former first lady, comes amid a series of trials following investigations into Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law in 2024 and related scandals involving the once-powerful couple.
The position of first lady does not come with any formal power allowing involvement in state affairs, but she is a symbolic figure representing the country, the lead judge of a three-justice bench said.
“A person who was in such a position might not always be a role model, but the person must not be a bad example to the public,” he said in the ruling.
The court ordered her to pay a 12.8 million won ($8,990) fine and ordered the confiscation of the diamond necklace. Kim has been held in detention since August while she was being investigated by a team led by a special prosecutor.
Prosecutors had demanded 15 years in jail and fines of 2.9 billion won over all the accusations she faced.
The court cleared Kim on charges of manipulating stock prices and violating political funding laws.
Kim had denied all the charges. Her lawyer said the team would review the ruling and decide whether to appeal the bribery conviction.
Kim, clad in a dark suit and wearing a face mask, was escorted by guards into the courtroom at the Seoul Central District Court and sat quietly while the verdict was delivered.
Supporters of Yoon and Kim, who braved freezing temperatures outside the court compound, cheered after the not-guilty verdicts on two of the charges were delivered.
The Unification Church said the gifts were delivered to her without expecting anything. Its leader Han Hak-ja, who is also on trial, has denied that she directed it to bribe Kim.
Shaman, political broker
Kim had drawn intense public scrutiny even before her husband was elected president in 2022 over questions about her academic records and lingering suspicion that she had been long involved in manipulating stock prices.
Her alleged association with a political broker and a person known as a shaman also drew public criticism that the two may be unduly influencing the former first couple.
Yoon, who was ousted from power last April, also faces eight trials on charges including insurrection, after his failed bid to impose martial law in December 2024.
He has appealed against a five-year jail term handed to him this month for obstructing attempts to arrest him after his martial law decree.
At a separate trial this month, prosecutors have sought the death penalty for Yoon on the charge of masterminding an insurrection. The court will rule on the case on February 19.
Yoon has argued it was within his powers as president to declare martial law and that the action was aimed at sounding the alarm over the obstruction of government by opposition parties.
The court cleared Kim, the wife of ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol who was ousted from office last year, on charges of stock price manipulation and violating the political funds act.
Prosecutors will appeal against the two not-guilty verdicts, media reports said.
The ruling, which can also be appealed by the former first lady, comes amid a series of trials following investigations into Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law in 2024 and related scandals involving the once-powerful couple.
The position of first lady does not come with any formal power allowing involvement in state affairs, but she is a symbolic figure representing the country, the lead judge of a three-justice bench said.
“A person who was in such a position might not always be a role model, but the person must not be a bad example to the public,” he said in the ruling.
The court ordered her to pay a 12.8 million won ($8,990) fine and ordered the confiscation of the diamond necklace. Kim has been held in detention since August while she was being investigated by a team led by a special prosecutor.
Prosecutors had demanded 15 years in jail and fines of 2.9 billion won over all the accusations she faced.
The court cleared Kim on charges of manipulating stock prices and violating political funding laws.
Kim had denied all the charges. Her lawyer said the team would review the ruling and decide whether to appeal the bribery conviction.
Kim, clad in a dark suit and wearing a face mask, was escorted by guards into the courtroom at the Seoul Central District Court and sat quietly while the verdict was delivered.
Supporters of Yoon and Kim, who braved freezing temperatures outside the court compound, cheered after the not-guilty verdicts on two of the charges were delivered.
The Unification Church said the gifts were delivered to her without expecting anything. Its leader Han Hak-ja, who is also on trial, has denied that she directed it to bribe Kim.
Shaman, political broker
Kim had drawn intense public scrutiny even before her husband was elected president in 2022 over questions about her academic records and lingering suspicion that she had been long involved in manipulating stock prices.
Her alleged association with a political broker and a person known as a shaman also drew public criticism that the two may be unduly influencing the former first couple.
Yoon, who was ousted from power last April, also faces eight trials on charges including insurrection, after his failed bid to impose martial law in December 2024.
He has appealed against a five-year jail term handed to him this month for obstructing attempts to arrest him after his martial law decree.
At a separate trial this month, prosecutors have sought the death penalty for Yoon on the charge of masterminding an insurrection. The court will rule on the case on February 19.
Yoon has argued it was within his powers as president to declare martial law and that the action was aimed at sounding the alarm over the obstruction of government by opposition parties.
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