Spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Liz Throssel

Location: Geneva

Dated: March 01, 2022

Peaceful anti-war protesters continue to be arbitrarily arrested in Russia, with reports suggesting some 6,400 people have been arrested since Thursday last week. We understand that the vast majority are released within hours, many after paying an administrative fine, while some are sentenced to prison terms ranging from seven to 25 days under various laws. There are also reports of unnecessary and excessive use of force by police during and after arrests.

We emphasize that arresting people solely for exercising their right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of liberty. We call for the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained and for the authorities to respect their international obligations to respect and guarantee the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact:

Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org or
Ravina Shamdasani – + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org

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