MOSCOW: People across Russia on Saturday were mourning the death of leading Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, which has sparked outrage around the world, despite facing the threat of arrest, reported German news agency (dpa).
According to human rights activists, more than 100 people have been arrested across the country following Navalny’s reported death on Friday.
More than 60 people have been detained in St Petersburg alone, online outlet ovd.info reported on Saturday morning. Arrests were made in 10 cities, including Moscow, Bryansk and Krasnodar, it said.
In Moscow and other cities, men in civilian clothes or city cleaning staff spontaneously cleared memorials erected for the 47-year-old, who died in prison in Russia’s far north.
The circumstances are so far unclear. Navalny collapsed on Friday after a walk in his penal colony in the northern Russian region of Yamal and immediately lost consciousness, according to state news agency TASS citing the prison authorities. Resuscitation attempts by paramedics were unsuccessful, the report added.
Meanwhile in London, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has said there will be “consequences” for the death of Navalny, as Western capitals pinned the blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Protests and gatherings took place around the world after news emerged of the death of the jailed Russian opposition leader.
In London, the Foreign Office summoned diplomats at the Russian embassy and called for Navalny’s death to be “investigated fully and transparently”.-Bernama
