BERLIN. Jan 25 (Interfax) - Berlin condemns the use of force against participants in the demonstrations staged across Russia last Saturday, German government spokesperson Steffen Seibert said.
"The federal government condemns the Russian security services' heavy-handed treatment of peaceful demonstrators that was totally disproportionate to the circumstances and condemns the use of force against citizens who took part in those peaceful demonstrations," Seibert told reporters on Monday.
"Russian citizens who took to the streets in more than one hundred cities may appeal to the rights that are enshrined in the Russian Constitution and are set out in international treaties," he said.
"Therefore, those detained must be released immediately," Seibert said, also calling for the release of arrested Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny.
"This conduct by the Russian security services against demonstrators, unfortunately, is another example of the problematic treatment of people who think differently," he said.
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