Hundreds of Women Take to Streets in Russia in Support of Political Prisoners
Reports indicate that hundreds of women in Russia took to the streets on Sunday, February 14, coinciding with Valentine’s Day, to express solidarity with imprisoned women who have been prosecuted for political reasons.
Today’s protest gathering in Russia, called a “Chain of Solidarity and Love,” was dedicated to Alexei Navalny, a fierce critic of Putin, and his wife, Yulia Navalnaya.
Ms. Navalnaya, who had been arrested several times in recent weeks for participating in Russian protests in support of her husband, fled to Germany on February 10. However, no explanation has yet been provided for her departure from Russia.
Images posted on social media on February 14 show Russian women protesters writing the names of female political prisoners on Valentine’s Day symbols such as red balloons, red flowers, and red hearts, while chanting in unison “Love is stronger than fear.”
The organizers of Sunday’s protest expressed their solidarity through a statement posted on Facebook with women who “were beaten and tortured by police forces during peaceful protests” as well as all protesters who have spent days in Russian courts, police buses, and detention facilities.
Leonid Volkov, an ally of Alexei Navalny, had previously called on Russian citizens to gather near their homes on Valentine’s Day and launch a social media campaign by turning on their phone flashlights and lighting candles in the shape of hearts.
Alexei Navalny, who has accused Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, of financial corruption, has now been sentenced to three and a half years in prison on charges related to a controversial “embezzlement” case dating back to 2014, and is currently serving his sentence. He says the verdict was politically motivated, and tens of thousands of Russians have taken to the streets in recent weeks in protest of Navalny’s arrest.
Source: Radio Farda
