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PARNAS quits working group on political reform bills

Nemtsov is sure arrested Sergei Udaltsov would support the decision of PARNAS

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, March 15 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia’s unregistered Party of People’s Freedom /PARNAS/ is quitting the working group on bills on political reforms headed by Deputy Head of the presidential administration Vyacheslav Volodin, Co-Chairperson of the party Boris Nemstov said on Thursday.

“Today, was arrested for ten days a member of the working group Sergei Udaltsov /leader of the Right Front/ and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment our comrade Alexei Kozlov /entrepreneur, spouce of an organiser of protest rallies Olga Romanova/. Under these conditions, we have come to a conclusion that we cannot continue working in that group, or it would be a betrayal, the power should free political prisoners,” Nemtsov said.

The working group headed by Volodim was organised following a meeting of Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev with leaders of Russia’s registered parties. Later on, the working group invited representatives of non-registered parties. The group was to work on addendums to the packet of bills on political reforms, presented to the State Duma by the president.

Nemtsov is sure arrested Sergei Udaltsov would support the decision of PARNAS. Udaltsov himself, who is sentenced to ten days of administrative arrest for disobeying to demands from the police after the rally on March 10, announced dry hunger strike.

Besides, the co-chairperson of PARNAS said that on March 17 the opposition planned a protest rally against the arrest of Udaltsov and the sentence to Kozlov. The rally is due in Pushkin Square.

“The rally will have a form of a meeting with deputies,” Nemtsov said.

The present legislation states, that meetings of citizens with members of the parliament do not require approval of the mayor’s office, and the opposition had used this form for organisation of rallies in Moscow.

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