The Russian authorities announced this Friday the death of the opposition leader in a high-security prison in the Arctic Circle.
People around the world took to the streets to protest and honor the late Russian activist Alexei Navalny.
There were mobilizations in Moscow, San Petersburg, Barcelona, Munich, Berlin, New York and London, among other cities, where people displayed their rejection of Putin and blamed him for what happened.
The protests were mostly peaceful, except for those in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, where the Kremlin intensified its repression and police operations.The NGO OVD-Info said that a woman with an anti-Putin sign and a local RusNews journalist Yulia Petrova, who was covering the death of the activist live, were arrested.
The Russian Prosecutor’s Office also warned the public that organizing, calling or joining “unauthorized” protests is an “administrative offense under Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and can lead to sanctions that can reach administrative detention.”
While some people demanded justice for the death of the opposition leader, others paid tribute to him. In Russia, the Wall of Pain – a memorial for those persecuted during the Soviet era – and the Solovetsky Stone, in Lubyanka Square, – a monument for the victims of repression – were covered with flowers and pictures of Navalny. Also, many lit candles outside embassies, the UN headquarters and train stations, where they made makeshift memorials.
The Russian authorities announced this Friday the death of the opposition leader in a high-security prison in the Arctic Circle, where he was serving a sentence of almost 30 years, for extremism and fraud.
The official causes of his death are still unknown.
