An ex-special forces commander and current Russian senator has called a recent police crackdown on protests in Moscow “illegal and incompetent” while the Kremlin has voiced support for the tough response. Russian authorities detained hundreds of people and launched criminal cases against dozens at a series of election protests in Moscow over the past month. Video footage of violent arrests has stirred anger among critics who say the authorities used excessive force.

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“As a former special forces commander, I believe the actions of those forces involved in maintaining public order were illegal and professionally incompetent,” Vyacheslav Markhayev, Irkutsk region senator, said Monday. Markhayev wrote on Instagram that the turnout of 50,000 at last Saturday’s rally, as well as that at previous rallies, “speaks to the fact there’s no other way [for protesters] to be heard by the authorities.”