According to an independent human rights group, hundreds of people have been arrested by Russian authorities in protests against the new “partial mobilization” of reserves for the war in Ukraine.
The NGO OVD-Info said that 724 people were detained in 32 different cities on Saturday (24). About 1,000 people were arrested earlier this week.
Demonstrations have gripped the country since President Vladimir Putin announced plans to call in 300,000 reservists. “Unauthorized” demonstrations were prohibited by Russian law, but this did not stop protests taking place on a large scale in urban areas.
In Moscow, the AFP news agency reported witnessing a protester being arrested by the police and shouting “we are not cannon fodder” (a term for troops seen as expendable in a conflict).
And one of the main cities of the country, St. Petersburg, a man told reporters: “I don’t want to go to war for Putin.”
Natalya Dubova, 70, told AFP she was against the war and admitted she was “fearing for the young” who should be ordered to go to the front.
heavy penalties
Image: Getty Images
Some of those arrested on Saturday reported receiving subpoenas and ordered to report to recruitment centers while under the protection of security forces. The Kremlin defended the practice earlier this week, saying it “is not against the law”.
Moscow also imposed new harsher penalties for those accused of negligence on call; He sentenced soldiers who were caught surrendering, trying to escape, or refusing to fight, to up to 10 years in prison.
The President also signed orders granting Russian citizenship to any foreign national who enlists to serve one year in the country’s armed forces.
Observers say the decree shows how severe the shortage of troops in Moscow has become, ignoring the five-year residency requirement for citizenship.
In other cities, young Russians continue to leave the country to avoid conscription.
On the border with Georgia, the queues of Russian cars stretch for more than 30 kilometers, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs urged people not to travel.
Local Russian officials admitted there was a significant influx of vehicles trying to pass, with about 2,500 vehicles waiting at a checkpoint.
The admission is a change of tone from Russia, which on Thursday called reports of Russians fleeing conscription “false”.
Finland, meanwhile, has seen a sharp increase in the number of Russians trying to enter the country. Matti Pitkaniitty, spokesman for the country’s border guard, said the number of arriving Russians has more than doubled since last week. On Friday, the government announced plans to keep Russian tourists out.
“The aim is to significantly reduce the number of people coming to Finland from Russia,” President Sauli Niinistö told state television.
Several other neighboring countries have already refused to offer asylum to Russians, who want to avoid conscription.
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkšvi’s said, “Many Russians who fled Russia due to mobilization agree on the killing of Ukrainians.” “They didn’t protest before. Now it is not right to see them as conscientious objectors.”
On Friday, the Kremlin announced a number of occupations that guarantee exemptions from hiring.
IT workers, bankers and journalists working for the state media will survive the “partial mobilization” announced by Putin.
However, the veracity of the Kremlin’s claims has been questioned, and men who do not meet the recruitment criteria have been reportedly called up.
Margarita Simonyan, editor of the state-owned newspaper RT, posted on Twitter a list of elderly and disabled citizens who need to be reported to the service.
This text was originally published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-63023637.
source: Noticias
