MOSCOW, April 30. /TASS/. Some 7,500 took part in an authorized rally against the decision to block a popular Telegram messenger in central Moscow, a spokesman for the Moscow police department told TASS on Monday.
"A public gathering that was sanctioned by the authorities ended in Academician Sakharov Avenue. A total of 7,5000 took part," the spokesman said, adding that no serious violations of public order had been reported.
The rally was organized by the Libertarian Party of Russia and authorized by the city authorities. The party’s representatives said up to 5,000 participants would take part in the event.
Traffic from Masha Poryvayeva Street to Sakharov Avenue was blocked and the participants were obliged to go through metal detectors. Security was ensured by police, the National Guard forces and members of a voluntary public order squad.
On April 13, Moscow’s Tagansky Court satisfied the claim of Roskomnadzor to block access to the Telegram instant messaging service in Russia due to its failure to provide the keys for decrypting users’ messages to the Federal Security Service (FSB). On April 16, communication providers embarked on carrying out the blocking process.