Russia: Police detain journalists at Moscow anti-war protest

Some 20 journalists were detained by police in central Moscow on Saturday at a rally of Russian soldiers' wives calling for their men to be returned from the front in Ukraine.

Independent Russian news outlet SOTA reported that 27 people were taken from the demonstration and transported to the nearest police station.

Reuters news agency said one of its journalists was among those detained while filming women laying red carnations at the tomb of the unknown soldier in the shadow of the Kremlin's walls in central Moscow.

Moscow police did not comment on the raid.

"Journalists should be free to report the news without fear of harassment or harm, wherever they are. We are committed to covering world events in an independent, unbiased, and reliable way, in keeping with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles," a Reuters spokesperson said in a statement.

Discontent among Russian women

The demonstration was organized by a group called The Way Home, which urged "wives, mothers, sisters and children" of reservists from across Russia to come to Moscow to "demonstrate (their) unity."

The Moscow prosecutor's office said Saturday that the rally had not been coordinated with the authorities.

Authorities warned against calling for and participating in unauthorized demonstrations.

For several weeks, wives of currently mobilized Russian men have been campaigning for their husbands' return from the front, as well as opposing further mobilization. 

Protesters on Saturday marked 500 days since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a "partial mobilization" of up to 300,000 reservists, after the army suffered battlefield setbacks in Ukraine.

The latest protests come just weeks before Russia's upcoming presidential election, scheduled on March 15 through 17, where Putin is all but certain to win.

jcg/nm (Reuters, AP, AFP)