Russian Police Arrest Over 200 Opposition Figures for Violating Quarantine Rules

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Russian police arrested about 200 people, including opposition politicians, who attended a political forum held at a hotel in downtown Moscow.

The reason was violating quarantine rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the attendance of members from "undesirable organizations."

According to TASS news agency on the 13th (local time), Moscow police detained about 200 people who attempted to hold the forum in violation of quarantine rules.

Moscow police stated, "Most of them had no means to protect themselves from the virus, and among the attendees were members of organizations designated as undesirable by the federal government."

Among those arrested were many opposition politicians, including Moscow city council members, Saint Petersburg city council members, and a former mayor of Yekaterinburg.

The forum was hosted by "Open Russia," established by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an oil tycoon who was expelled from Russia. The Russian government designated Open Russia and about 30 other organizations as undesirable in 2015.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.