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Minors as young as nine lured into Navalny’s illegal demonstrations, says ombudsperson

Unauthorized protests backing detained Russian blogger Alexey Navalny were held in Moscow and other major Russian cities on January 23

Russian Children’s Ombudsperson Anna Kuznetsova Maxim Grigoryev/TASS

Russian Children’s Ombudsperson Anna Kuznetsova

© Maxim Grigoryev/TASS

MOSCOW, January 25./TASS/. The youngest among minors taken into custody during Saturday’s unsanctioned Navalny rallies was only nine years old, Russian Children’s Ombudsperson Anna Kuznetsova said on Monday.

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Two brothers aged nine and 12 had been detained at Saturday’s Moscow rally, Kuznetsova said. She had a conversation with the brothers brought to the Tverskoy district precinct of the capital city. "They had absolutely no idea as to what they had got mixed up in, at least that is what they told me. But in fact, the elder brother asked me after the conversation - and what will happen to me now," she stated.

Late on Saturday, the ombudsperson said that about 300 minors had been taken into custody across Russia during the rallies.

Unauthorized protests backing detained Russian blogger Alexey Navalny were held in Moscow and other major Russian cities on January 23. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office and the police had repeatedly warned the public of legal accountability for joining any unsanctioned rally. According to the police, about 4,000 people attended the protests in the Russian capital. Moscow’s Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Potyaeva stated on her website that over 1,000 people had been detained on Saturday.

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