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Criminal case opened against 24-year-old engineer involved in 2012 Moscow protest act

A criminal case into the act of mass unrest was opened following a protest act, staged in Bolotnaya square in Moscow on May 6, 2012, which turned into fierce clashes with police

© ITAR-TASS/Alexandr Ryumin

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MOSCOW, March 2. /TASS/. A criminal case has been opened against the 24-year-old engineer, Ivan Nepomnyashchich — a new figure implicated in illegal activity during a protest act staged in Bolotnaya square in Moscow in May 2012, his lawyer told TASS on Monday.

Last week the young man was charged with an act of violence staged against representatives of the authorities and involvement in mass unrest, which entails criminal punishment as envisaged in corresponding articles of the Criminal Code, the lawyer said. The defendant has not been giving testimony, which is his right granted by the constitution, the lawyer added.

The young man was detained on February 25 after he had been identified by one of the witnesses. The court ruled to place the suspect under house arrest pending investigation which has been lengthened until April 6.

The defendant's illegal activity was confirmed by recorded videos, which featured the defendant using illegal methods to defy police, forensic experts and witnesses.

A criminal case into the act of mass unrest was opened following a protest act, staged in Bolotnaya square on May 6, 2012, which turned into fierce clashes with police. More than 30 policemen and several dozen other people were injured in the clashes.

Following the clashes police detained more than 400 suspects and opened a criminal case against 30 protesters implicated in violence. Later, criminal charges against some of them were dropped as a result of amnesty declared by the 20th anniversary since the adoption of the Russian Constitution.

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