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Yabloko leader challenges court ruling demanding to liquidate opposition camp

Earlier in the day, Moscow’s Basmanny district court obliged the authorities to liquidated the camp of protesters in Chistoprudny Boulevard

MOSCOW, May 15 (Itar-Tass) —— Leader of the opposition party Yabloko Sergei Mitrokhin has challenged the ruling of Moscow’s Basmanny district court on the liquidation of an opposition camp in Chistoprudny Boulevard, according to his Twitter microblog.

“In line with the current laws, including the laws of Moscow, citizens, regardless of their number, have the right to stay in parks and boulevards of the city meant for however long and at whatever time of the day,” the challenge said. Mitrokhin noted that the court ruling abridges his right of free movement “obliging him not to visit this boulevard.” In this connection he asks the Moscow city court to revoke this ruling as unlawful and ungrounded, since the court’s finding run counter to the real state of things.

Earlier in the day, Moscow’s Basmanny district court obliged the authorities to liquidated the camp of protesters in Chistoprudny Boulevard, thus satisfying a lawsuit filed by local dwellers. The court ruled the passiveness of authorities as illegal. Under the court ruling, the police are obliged to “put an end to the political action, which violates public order,” and local authorities are obliged to ensure security of people. Moscow’s police demanded that protesters should leave Chistoprudny Boulevard by noon on Wednesday.

Protesters however decided to stay there till 11:30 a.m. Moscow time on May 16. This is what opposition activists decided late on Tuesday in an improvised “assembly.”

Among those present there were lawmakers from the Russian State Duma lower parliament house Ilya Ponomaryov and Dmitry Gudkov, a co-chairman of the unregistered Party of People’s Freedom, Boris Nemtsov, and a leader of the Solidarity movement Ilya Yashin.

The opposition leaders decided that the camp should be in place till 11:30 a.m. Moscow time, and if police shows up the camp will be moved to another place in the Boulevard Ring. The exact place will be chosen by 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday. “Our basic task is to keep the camp wherever possible till June 12 when we plan a mass action,” Yashin said.

Now, there are more than 1,500 people near the monument to Abai Kunanbayev in Chistoprudny Boulevard. Activists are planting flowers. Earlier, they were accused by the city authorities of incurring a 20-million-rouble damage to the boulevard.

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