Foreign journalists detained in Moscow amid crackdown on protests held by Russian soldiers’ wives

A video seen by CNN shows Russian authorities detaining several people wearing 'Press' vests near the iconic Red Square.

Moscow: Several people, including journalists from foreign press organisations, were detained in Moscow after authorities cracked down on protesters at Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s election headquarters, independent media outlets reported, according to CNN. The protests at the election headquarters were organised by the wives of mobilised men amid a growing movement of women who are demanding that their husbands and sons be returned home from fighting in Ukraine.

A video seen by CNN shows Russian authorities detaining several people wearing ‘Press’ vests near the iconic Red Square. It was reported that the “500 days of mobilisation” brought women to the walls of the Kremlin before moving to Putin’s nearby election headquarters. The independent Russian news outlet SOTAvision posted on their Telegram channel that a correspondent saw security forces “snatching random people from the crowd, and only men.”

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As many as 27 people, only one of them a protester, were driven in a police van to Kitay-Gorod station where they are currently being held, according to OVD-info, a group that monitors Russian repression. OVD-info said they dispatched a lawyer to visit the detainees but were denied access, CNN reported. Independent Russian media group Mediazona reported on Saturday that among those held are journalists working for Kommersant, France Press and Spiegel, as well as human rights activists. Another seven journalists covering the rally were taken to the Basmanny police station, OVD-info said. Among them is the representative of the Japanese television company ‘Fuji’ Andrei Zaiko.