Nearly 200 participants at a Moscow political forum for independent municipal council members were arrested by police who charged that the forum was hosted by an "undesirable" organization and that the participants were guilty of administrative violations, according to OVD-Info, a group that monitors violations of civil and political rights.
Included in those rounded up where Ilya Yashin, an opposition critic who leads a local municipal district, Yevengy Roizman, the former mayor of Yekaterinburg and municipal council member, Yulia Galyamina. The event was organized by United Democrats, a group led by Politician Andrei Pivovarov who said from a video recorded inside a police van that the goal was to scare away people from participating in politics.
In 2015, Russia introduced a law criminalizing membership in "undesirable organizations." Approximately 30 groups have so far been banned.
The arrest of the opposition figures and other attendees at the conference comes during a government crackdown on anti-government activism.
Police also stated that participants were not following proper coronavirus protective measures. However, footage showed those assembled wearing masks.
According to BBC News, Yashin wrote on Facebook that "the finale of the short forum was very symbolic: deputies in police vans and masked police twisting people’s arms. But no one promised us freedom on a silver platter. Russia will still be free."