MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd January, 2021) The Russian human rights commissioner said her office was not notified about any rights violations after unauthorized protests wrapped up in Russia's Far East and Siberia on Saturday.
"Today's public gatherings in eastern Russia showed that regional authorities acted extremely correctly toward people who went out to protest despite repeated warnings," Tatyana Moskalkova said.
She said she was monitoring demonstrations as they unfold across the country. Some 4,000 protesters took to the streets in Moscow. Another rally is underway in St.Petersburg, to the north of the capital.
Protests were called after police arrested Alexey Navalny, a leading opposition activist, for violating probation terms on an embezzlement conviction.
The Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor General's Office have warned that both organizers and participants would be brought to justice for taking part in mass gatherings despite coronavirus restrictions. The government called rallies a provocation and a threat to public safety.
