MOSCOW, Feb 17 (Reuters) – More than 110 people had been detained at events in Russia in memory of Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most formidable domestic opponent, who died on Friday, according to rights group OVD-Info.
Navalny, a 47-year-old former lawyer, fell unconscious and died on Friday after a walk at the “Polar Wolf” Arctic penal colony where he was serving a three-decade sentence, authorities said.
OVD-Info, which reports on freedom of assembly in Russia, said more than 110 people in 13 cities across Russia had been detained at spontaneous rallies as of 0736 GMT on Saturday.
At least 69 people had been detained in St Petersburg, OVD-Info said.
“In each police department there may be more detainees than in the published lists,” OVD-Info said. “We publish only the names of those people about whom we have reliable knowledge and whose names we can publish.”
Reuters could not immediately verify the count.
The hundreds of flowers and candles laid in Moscow on Friday to honour Navalny’s memory were mostly taken away overnight in black bags. Russians paying their respects spoke of their despair and apathy after Navalny’s death. (Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Alexander Marrow)