Thirty Journalists and Activists Detained before Vladimir Putin’s Annual Press Conference

About 30 journalists and activists were arrested on Thursday, 19 December, near the World Trade Center in Moscow, the site of a large press conference held by the Russian president Vladimir Putin.

According to echomsk.ru, the arrested persons include journalists and activists that came to ask Vladimir Putin about the destiny of the defendants in the case related to the protests on Bolotnaya Square of a year and a half before. The arrested were taken to the Department of Internal Affairs in the Presnensky district of Moscow.

On Thursday, Vladimir Putin is holding a marathon press conference, like he does every year, where he will answer a large number of questions on various topics, from politics to economy and social issues. Hundreds of foreign journalists are present in the hope to receive original answers from the Russian president.

Over 1,300 Russian and foreign journalists were accredited to Putin’s press conference. They are writing the name of their media outlets and the topic they wish to discuss with Putin on placards, which they raise while the Russian president reads them and chooses the journalist whose question he wants to answer.

Source of photo: Wikimedia Commons