Russian women hold human chain protests in support of Yulia Navalnaya
Moscow, Feb 14 (efe-epa).- Some 300 women formed a human chain in Moscow on Sunday in solidarity with Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of leading Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.
The protest, which was unauthorized, doubled up as a call to release all political prisoners and came after several large protests were met by a police crackdown in recent weeks.
“We want to politicize Valentine’s Day and remember that love is stronger than fear,” organizers said on social media.
Similar protests were held in St. Petersburg.
Navalny supporters are expected to hold a candle-lit demonstration later on Sunday.
Navalny’s lawyers announced they would appeal the 3.5 year prison sentence handed to the Kremlin critic upon his return from Germany in January, where he had spent months recovering from a near-fatal Novichok nerve agent poisoning that the he claims was ordered by the Kremlin. EFE-EPA
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