And in Moscow, police conducted at least 15 searches of the homes of relatives, close friends and supporters of opponent Alexei Navalny, who was detained after his return from Germany to Russia.
The searches also took place in the apartment of Navalny and his wife, as well as in the office of the Anti-Corruption Fund he heads, in the Navalny LIVE studio and at the home of his lawyer, Lyubov Sobol, who was arrested. For 48 hours, as did his brother, Oleg Navalny, accused in a criminal case of violating epidemic control rules.
The police raided and searched other supporters of the Russian opponent, and confiscated electronic devices and equipment.
Representatives of the Anti-Corruption Fund said that most of the searches were carried out in the criminal case open to the violation of sanitary and epidemiological standards during the large protests, since the end of last week, in support of Alexei Navalny. Violation of the relevant provisions of the Criminal Code provides for imprisonment of up to two years, and in cases that cause human victims, the punishment is up to seven years in prison.
Supporters of Alexei Navalny expect a fresh wave of searches, Thursday, before fresh protests announced by the Russian opponent on Sunday, January 31.
The protests on Saturday 23 January, which took place in more than 100 cities, were the largest in recent years in Russia, with about 250,000 people taking part, according to opposition estimates. Police arrested more than 3,500 protesters and opened more than 20 criminal cases. The United States and the European Union have condemned the violent suppression of protests by law enforcement authorities, which is studying the possibility of imposing sanctions.
