US urges Russia to free political, religious prisoners

By Safvan Allahverdi

WASHINGTON (AA) - The State Department on Monday urged Moscow to release dozens of political or religious prisoner in Russia.

"We call on Russia to release all those identified as political or religious prisoners immediately and cease its use of the legal system to suppress dissent and peaceful religious practice," the department’s spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

The U.S, is "deeply concerned" by the growing number of arrests, according to the statement that added more than 150 people were being held in prison without trial, including human rights activists, more than a dozen Muslim and five Church of Scientology leaders.

"The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve equal treatment under the law and the ability to exercise their rights without fear of retribution," it noted.