Russian protester holds up sign saying ‘two words’ and is marched away by armed police seconds later
Armed police descended on young woman in Moscow’s Manezhnaya Square
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A protester holding a tiny sign with “two words” written on it was arrested by the Russian authorities within three seconds of her showing it in a stark example of how the country is cracking down on free speech.
In the footage, a horde of heavily armoured policemen descended on a young woman in Manezhnaya Square in Moscow after she stood by herself and held up a small paper sign.
The woman was asked by a cameraman if she supports the activists who have been protesting Russia’s war on Ukraine.
She replied that she did and said: “I’d like to ask your opinion, if I could just say two words... Am I going to get arrested for this or not?”
The cameraman then replied “You’re already being detained” as a swarm of police officers whisked the woman away.
Another woman in the square then walked up to the person filming and asked: “Are you only filming the opposition?”
He replied: “We’re filming everybody.” The second woman responded: “And if anyone else has an opinion, you’ll film it, too?”
She continued to speak about the Russian people who don’t go to protests and who believe in Mr Putin’s “military operation”. But before she could share her views in support of the invasion, she too was whisked away by police.
Demonstrations took place in many locations across Russia on Sunday and monitoring organisation, OVD-Info, said over 700 people were detained.
In Moscow, AFP reported that there were a dozen arrests and that police were taking away anybody without press papers.
In Russia’s second city, Saint Petersburg, AFP also witnessed multiple arrests, including a protester being dragged across the ground.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, more than 14,200 people have been reportedly arrested in Russia for taking part in anti-war protests.
Moscow has also been cracking down on independent journalism and, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 150 of Russia’s independent reporters and editors have left the country.
The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments