Police arrested dozens of journalists in protest against relatives of Russian soldiers mobilized in Ukraine

Wives of those mobilized in Ukraine during a protest near Red Square in Moscow Photo: REUTERS

Russian police detained a group of at least twenty on Saturday journalists were covering a demonstration by the wives of mobilized soldiers near Red Square in Moscow.

Officers appeared to target male reporters at the protest, a journalist who took part in the march said.

Video footage At least a dozen officers were seen entering the protest and then leading away journalists wearing yellow vests.

AFP video journalist among those arrested

A video journalist from the AFP news agency was among those arrested.

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He was able to report from a car that was taking the men away from the demonstration site.

The journalists were taken to a nearby police station , the news agency reported.

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German magazine Der Spiegel, where one of its journalists was also arrested, reported later on Saturday that some reporters had already been released.

Wives and partners have been protesting for weeks

For several weeks, the wives and partners of the conscripted men have been staging protests outside the Kremlin walls, demanding that their partners be returned home.

The Kremlin has so far done just that. has allowed the protests to go ahead despite tight restrictions it imposed on protests after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

Several dozen women attended Saturday's march to mark the 500th anniversary of the partial mobilization of young men into the Russian army.

Wearing white scarves and carrying flowers, they lay them at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. the women say they want the Kremlin to tell them when their husbands return from the front in eastern Ukraine.

Movement still goes unpunished

Movement still goes unpunished by Russian authorities.

< p >Reports of journalists being detained at the march will heighten concerns about international media intimidation at a time when an American journalist is still in custody in Russia on espionage charges.

In January, a Russian court extended the detention period Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich for two months.

Mr. Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 and charged with espionage.

He has denied the charges brought against him. Russian prosecutors have not yet presented any evidence against him.

The 32-year-old man was arrested during a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. He is being held in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison.