In the night of Sunday 26 to Monday 27 March, a spokesperson for the European External Action Service called on the Russian authorities to release peaceful demonstrators immediately who were arrested following demonstrations in a dozen Russian cities – including political opponent Alexei Navalny.
In press release, the spokesperson said the EU was calling on the Russian authorities to fully respect the international commitments made by the Council of Europe and the OSCE, to defend fundamental freedoms of speech, association and peaceful gatherings. The spokesperson said the police operations on Sunday to disperse demonstrators, arresting hundreds of citizens, had prevented the exercise of fundamental freedoms.
Several EU foreign ministers also expressed concern, as did the ALDE group at the European Parliament and the secretary general of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, who said the detentions raised questions with regard to the European Convention of Human Rights. Jagland called for the release of all detainees, adding that the Council of Europe was prepared to work with the Russian authorities to prevent a repeat of such situations and ensure respect of the European Convention of Human Rights.
Nearly 1,000 individuals are reported to have been arrested in Moscow alone and more than 100 of them were still under arrest on Monday morning. The demonstrations were called for by Navalny who, on 2 March, published a video watched more than 11 million times denouncing the "real estate empire" that people close to the prime minister, Dmitri Medvedev, are alleged to have built up for him. Brought to trial on Monday 27 March, Navalny was condemned to 15 days in prison for obstructing policemen during his arrest and fined 20,000 roubles (about €325) for organising an unauthorised demonstration. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)