Russian security forces detained 18 people during protests against the internet blackout
On March 29, protests against restrictions on internet freedom took place in cities across the aggressor country, resulting in mass arrests and police violence.
According to human rights activists, at least 18 citizens were taken to police stations, including minors and elderly people.
The highest number of detainees was recorded in Moscow—13 people; two more people were arrested in St. Petersburg and Kaluga, and one activist was detained in Voronezh.
Among those forcibly taken to the police were four teenagers and 72-year-old Soviet dissident Alexander Podrabinek.
In the Russian capital, Bolotnaya Square became the epicenter of events, where authorities had preemptively deployed police vans and Rosgvardia units.
Security forces selectively stopped passersby throughout the day, checked their documents, and sent them to police stations without explanation, where lawyers were subsequently denied access.
“Security forces stopped individuals throughout the day, checked their documents, and sent them to police stations, where lawyers were not allowed,” eyewitnesses reported.
Officers at the “Mishchansky” station were particularly brutal; there, detainee Artur Wagner reported being beaten and having his bank card stolen.
Police officers forced the young man to testify against his own aunt, who was left behind bars overnight for alleged “disobedience.”
Another egregious incident occurred at the Yakimanka police station, where detainee Vladislav Azarochkin was subjected to torture and threats of sexual violence. The man was charged with petty hooliganism and held in custody until morning.
In St. Petersburg, the methods of pressure proved no less peculiar: a detained man was threatened not only with an administrative citation but also with immediate referral to the military registration and enlistment office.
Only after prolonged psychological pressure did they decide to release him.
As a reminder, internet access went down in the Russian State Duma amid widespread outages in Moscow.
Russians also began to experience mobile internet blackouts.
