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Russia's opposition to speak up in defense of 'political prisoners'

Defense of political prisoners will keynote the meeting of Russia’s off-parliament opposition in Moscow Saturday

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, October 18 (Itar-Tass) — Defense of political prisoners will keynote the meeting of Russia’s off-parliament opposition in Moscow Saturday, October 20, Sergei Udaltsov, the coordinator of the Left-Wing Front movement told Itar-Tass.

“We believe our prisoners should be in no way less important a theme of the meeting than the election of the opposition’s Coordination Council,” he said. “The issue is being discussed at a meeting of the organizing committee right now.”

Thursday’s meeting of the organizing committee is expected to be the last one and its functions will then go over to the so-called Coordination Council of the opposition, the election of which has been scheduled for October 20 and October 21.

The oppositionist actions that have been scheduled for the weekend and coordinated with Moscow Mayoralty are to be held officially in support of the newly created Coordination Council.

“The objective of the meeting has long been coordinated with the government and we didn’t receive any information on whatever changes in it,” Alexei Mayorov, the chief of Moscow City’s regional security department said Thursday.

He recalled that representatives of the department and oppositionists had had a meeting earlier in the day.

“We discussed only technical details there,” Mayorov said. “A change of the initially stated goal and other terms, on which the meeting was authorized, will be considered as an encroachment on the federal law.”

Earlier, the Mayoralty issued authorization for a meeting on Trubnaya Square Saturday from 12:00 hours through to 18:00 hours and from 15:00 hours through to 21:00 hours October 21.

For each of the two days, the oppositionists have stated an anticipated attendance of 1,500 people.

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