Russian police ‘offer face masks’ to protesters amid Navalny demos

Russian police have reportedly offered face masks to protesters in Moscow and arrested several people as they scuffled with officers in an unauthorized demonstration against the arrest of opposition figure Alexey Navalny.

Authorities have warned against such illegal gatherings, citing the coronavirus pandemic.

Navalny encouraged his supporters to take to the streets after police detained him on arrival at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport from Germany on Sunday.

His arrest came five months after he was transferred to a hospital in Berlin to be treated for what the West alleged had been a nerve-agent attack by Moscow.

Russian opposition figure Navalny arrested upon arrival in Moscow

Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who had violated the terms of his suspended prison sentence, was arrested upon arrival in Moscow.

On Saturday, protests against his detention began in the cities of Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean and Irkutsk and Novosibirsk in Siberia, and in Moscow and St Petersburg as well.

According to authorities, some 4,000 people gathered at Pushkin Square of central Moscow.

“Around 4,000 people have gathered in Pushkin Square in Moscow for an unsanctioned event," police said, adding that the crowd clashed with the riot police, targeting police officers by projectile water bottles and eggs.

Police said the crowd was dispersed in the late afternoon and that several people were detained.

"An unauthorized rally took place at Makhachkala's Central Square, approximately 30 participants were delivered to police departments for identification," a spokesperson for the republic's interior ministry told Sputnik.

“Almost everyone has been released. The event at the square is over,” it added.

Some 14 people were also detained in Yekaterinburg, police said

Meanwhile, video footage show police officers handing out face masks to people at the scene of the protest rally, Russia website Sputnik reported.

The officers were also using loudspeakers to remind the crowd that they need to follow social distancing rules and wear masks and gloves to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

"Dear citizens, this event is illegal,” the loudspeakers thundered. “We are doing everything to ensure your security, and urgently ask you to leave.”

City officials said at least 20 People with confirmed COVID-19 infection attended the rally in Moscow.

Police in St. Petersburg also detained several people at the Senate Square, as the they pelted smoke flares at riot police.

Navalny arrest: Russia urges West to stop meddling, deal with own issues

Russia calls on the West to deal with its own issues, after the US and European countries decried the arrest of opposition figure Alexey Navalny.

More protests are planned in Moscow and St Petersburg, where police have cordoned off main squares to divert the crowds.

Moscow warns West against meddling in its affairs 

Western states, which have previously called on the Kremlin to immediately release Navalny, are now calling for the release of protesters, saying that they are “continue to monitor the situation closely.”

“We urge the Russian government to respect and comply with its international commitments on human rights, and release citizens detained during peaceful demonstrations," said the British Foreign Ministry.

The US embassy in Moscow also said that Washington “supports the right of all people to peaceful protests, freedom of expression.”

“The measures taken by the Russian authorities are aimed at suppressing these rights,” it added.

In a controversial move on Friday, the US mission in Moscow published routes of the planned protests and urged its nationals to avoid these locations.

In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry called on Washington to refrain from meddling in the county’s internal affairs.

Russia warns US against encouraging protests by Western-backed blogger

Moscow has warned the US embassy against any coverage of unauthorized rallies in support of Western-backed blogger Alexi Navalny.

The ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that US diplomats will be summoned to the ministry over the move.

"What was it - a recommendation or an instruction?” said Zakharova. “Even the organizers [of protests] did not announce such plans."

"One can imagine what could happen if the Russian embassy in Washington published a map of protest routes indicating Capitol Hill would be the final point,” she said, referring to violent protests that led to the siege at the US congress building earlier this month.

“Such orientation on the ground would result in a global hysteria of US politicians, including anti-Russian slogans, threats of sanctions and the expulsion of Russian diplomats," Zakharova added.

The West has already threatened Russia with sanctions over the arrest of Navalny, who will remain behind bars until mid-February, awaiting trial.

Navalny was arrested for violating the terms of a suspended sentence he initially received in 2014.

In response to calls from the European Union, the United States, and their allies, to immediately release Navalny, Moscow said it is not “going to take them into account.”

Russia has also denied the Western countries' accusations that Moscow poisoned Navalny, describing it as a provocation of Western intelligence services aimed at justifying more sanctions against Russia.

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