UN ‘deeply disturbed’ by thousands arrested during protests

The UN voiced alarm on Tuesday at credible reports of nearly 2,400 arrests in less than a week of protests in Russia against the draft ordered by President Vladimir Putin.

“We are deeply disturbed by the large number of people who have reportedly been arrested,” United Nations rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.

Russian authorities have cracked down on criticism of the war in Ukraine, arresting thousands of protesters since the beginning of the conflict in February.

But the arrests have sky-rocketed since Putin announced last Wednesday a partial military mobilisation to bolster troops in Ukraine.

Shamdasani pointed to “credible reports (that) some 2,377 demonstrators had been arrested… in various locations across the country”.

“It is unclear how many people remain in detention,” she said.