Moscow police detain 15 at journalist arrest protest

Police in Moscow detained 15 people who came out to protest Saturday, in violation of coronavirus restrictions, against the arrest of a prominent Russian journalist.

Opposition Moscow municipal deputies and several activists were among those detained.

The activists were protesting against the arrest of journalist Ilya Azar, who was sentenced to 15 days in jail the night before, also for holding a one-man protest during the lockdown.

Moscow has banned "mass public events" to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Detained activists and journalists were accused of violating coronavirus restrictions applied in the Russia's capital since March.

On Tuesday, Azar came to the city's police headquarters to protest against the jailing, on extortion charges, of an activist who monitors police corruption.

His arrest elicited outrage among journalists and opposition activists.

On Friday, 25 people were detained in Moscow and Saint Petersburg for picketing the police headquarters.

Amnesty International, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and Russia's Presidential Human Rights Council condemned the crackdown and urged authorities to release the protesters.