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Charge brought against activist of public movement in Khimki Forest defense altered

The decision was made after the police studied video recordings from the incident scene

MOSCOW, April 8 (Itar-Tass) —— The police have altered the charges brought against Yevgenia Chirikova, an activist of the public movement in defense of the Khimki Forest, and another two young people detained in downtown Moscow, the city police department said.

The decision was made after the police studied video recordings from the incident scene. It was said earlier that the detainees would be charged with petty hooliganism (Part 2, Article 20.1 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses). Now the charge is changed to disobedience to the police (Article 19.3 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses).

The trio was detained for putting up a tent in a restricted area and ignoring police demands. They will be released from custody after they are charged and issued with court subpoenas, the police said.

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