In Tbilisi, protestors demand to release political prisoners in Russia

In Tbilisi, citizens of Russia, who on January 31 came to a protest action in front of the parliament building, spoke about the political persecution in their homeland and demanded to release political prisoners.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 31, actions of Navalny's supporters were held in many regions of Russia, including cities of the country's south: Astrakhan, Volgograd, Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi and Stavropol. According to eyewitnesses, at the venues of unsanctioned actions, not only activists were detained, but also journalists and passers-by.

From 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. local time on January 31, in Tbilisi, the Russian citizens living in Georgia held a protest action in front of the Georgian parliament and formed a human chain. In their hands, the protesters were holding posters with the demand to release political prisoners in Russia, reported the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent who attended the protest action.

According to organizers of the protest action, its goal is to show that the Russian citizens living in other countries want democratic changes in Russia.

"Thirty people gathered. I assess the action positively [...] People care. They are willing to go out and support their friends, acquaintances, and fellow citizens in Russia. Yes, it is safer here than in Russia. But all the more, we should go out, because nothing threatens us," political analyst Yegor Kuroptev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Andrei Nikolaev from Russia told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that, being an entrepreneur, he had repeatedly faced the arbitrariness of Russian law enforcers.

The entrepreneur says that he has been living in Georgia for four years already and he likes being here. "The only thing I don't like is the unlawful processes taking place in my home country, in Russia [...] I would like a criminal to be brought to responsibility for his actions in Russia, regardless of his welfare and regardless of whether he is an official or an ordinary man," Andrei Nikolaev added.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 1, 2021 at 06:24 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.