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Police have no ground to detain protesters in Ostankino – human rights defender

Andrei Babushkin called flash mob action, conduct which is not governed by the laws
Screenchot Rissia 24
Screenchot Rissia 24

MOSCOW, March 18 (Itar-Tass) — The police mistook the Sunday action in Ostankino for an unauthorized rally and made the detentions illegally, member of the city police department’s public council, human rights defender Andrei Babushkin told Itar-Tass.

“The political administration mistook today’s action for a rally. Yet it was a flash mob – a format not regulated with laws,” he said.

Up to 100 people were detained, among them opposition leaders Sergei Udaltsov and Boris Nemtsov, but there were no grounds for their detention: they did not carry any placards and did not chant any slogans, Babushkin said. “They were simply speaking to citizens. The law does not prohibit doing that. I cannot recall Putin being detained for speaking to citizens,” he said.

The action against NTV continues in Ostankino. People are singing songs and chanting slogans. Only the most active participants in the action are detained.