MOSCOW (Reuters) – At least 10,000 people marched in the eastern Russian city of Khabarovsk on Saturday, demanding the release of a popular regional governor arrested last week on suspicion of murder, in a second week of protests.
People participate in a demonstration in support of the arrested regional governor Sergei Furgal, accused of organizing the murder of several businessmen 15 years ago, in Khabarovsk, Russia, on July 18, 2020. REUTERS / Evgenii Pereverzev
Sergei Furgal, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, was the governor of the Khabarovsk region, where he came to power in 2018 after defeating a rival of the ruling United Russia party that supports President Vladimir Putin.
Furgal was taken to Moscow last week, where he is now in pre-trial detention after being accused of participating in organizing the murder of multiple businessmen 15 years ago.
He could face life in prison if found guilty of the charges, which also include involvement in an attempted murder. He denies the charges.
Protesters filled a city street on a stifling Saturday afternoon, carrying signs in support of Furgal, some demanding his release, others calling for an open and transparent trial, with the column of protesters stretching out on the horizon.
Svetlana, a middle-aged woman with a face mask, said residents were not discouraged by the allegations against Furgal. Many Russian politicians have a dark past, he said, as the last years of the Soviet Union were riddled with corruption and crime.
“People came here to defend their voting rights: we chose it, so give it back to us,” he said.
The protests come just three weeks after a crushing referendum victory for the Kremlin over amendments to the constitution, allowing Putin to remain in power for another 16 years. Dozens were arrested in Moscow last week after a few hundred protested the amendments.
Last Saturday, 10,000-12,000 people participated in an unauthorized march in Khabarovsk, the local branch of the interior ministry said in a statement. The city is a seven-hour flight east of the capital.
This Saturday, fewer than 10,000 marched, the city mayor’s office said in a statement, adding that the protest was peaceful and there were no arrests. Some local media outlets estimated that the number was significantly higher.
(This story has been completed to eliminate strange words in paragraph 1)
Reports by Yury Zolotarev and Polina Ivanova; Edited by Clelia Oziel
.
