Anti-corruption protest participants arrested in Moscow claim to receive threats from authorities

Protestors arrested at the anti-corruption rally held in Moscow on March 26 told members of the Public Monitoring Commission that they were threatened by law enforcement officials, reported Novaya Gazeta on Friday, citing Dmitry Piskunov, a member of the Moscow’s Public Monitoring Commission.

Several people in a temporary detention facility on Petrovka Street in Moscow spoke out about threats allegedly coming from a high-ranking law enforcement officer, a major.

According to the detained protestors, the major called them into a room where he asked questions about the protest and inquired as to their political views. He also demanded access to their social networking accounts, reported Novaya Gazeta.

One of the protestors claimed that the major told him that if he refused to talk, drugs would be “found” in his apartment. Another claimed that the major threatened his brother. The third claimed that the major, having struck himself on the cheek, threatened to have him accused of attacking a law enforcement officer.

More than ten people also said that they “signed a document bearing content they were not familiar with,” reported Novaya Gazeta. The isolation unit of the Petrovka detention center holds over 20 people in total, said Piskunov.

On March 26, anti-corruption protests swept nearly a hundred cities across Russia, including Moscow. Moscow municipal authorities refused to pre-approve the protest and more than a thousand people were detained. Dozens were later given sentences of administrative arrest.