Police detain activists laying flowers for slain Kremlin critic Nemtsov, monitor says

OVD-Info, which monitors the detention of political protesters and activists, said police had taken eight people into custody as they tried to lay flowers on the spot where Nemtsov was assassinated. Activists said authorities had dismantled the memorial on Friday night, a day before a Moscow court was to hear the appeal of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny against his jailing on charges he says are politically motivated.

Police in Moscow detained eight people on Saturday as they tried to lay flowers at a memorial to slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov that had been dismantled by authorities, a monitoring group said. Nemtsov, a critic of President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead on Feb. 27, 2015, as he walked across a bridge near the Kremlin in the heart of the Russian capital.

After Nemtsov's murder, opposition activists began guarding a makeshift memorial on the bridge when municipal authorities turned down a request to put up a plaque there in his honour. OVD-Info, which monitors the detention of political protesters and activists, said police had taken eight people into custody as they tried to lay flowers on the spot where Nemtsov was assassinated.

Activists said authorities had dismantled the memorial on Friday night, a day before a Moscow court was to hear the appeal of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny against his jailing on charges he says are politically motivated. Navalny lost his appeal on Saturday but his prison sentence was shortened by six weeks.

Police have not commented on the memorial's dismantling and the activists' detention. The Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Echo Moskvy radio station reported that police had taken down the makeshift memorial to prevent it from drawing protesters calling for Navalny's release.

More than 11,000 people were detained across Russia at street protests after Navalny's arrest and jailing. Nemtsov, who briefly served as deputy prime minister in the late 1990s before joining the opposition, had been working on a report examining Russia's role in the conflict in Ukraine at the time of his killing.

Opposition activists have staged an annual march in Nemtsov's honour around the anniversary of his death. Moscow authorities this week turned down a request to hold the march because of the coronavirus pandemic.