About 50 teenagers detained at unauthorized rally in Moscow

MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. Among those detained at an unauthorized rally in the center of Moscow on July 27 there were 47 teenagers. All of them have been released by now, Moscow’s city ombudsperson Tatyana Potyayeva told TASS.

"According to currently available data, 47 teenagers were detained. All of them have been released. Parents were invited and allowed to take them home. We’ve asked the Interior Ministry for concrete statistics. We are interested in Moscow’s teenagers first and foremost," the ombudsperson reported.

Potyayeva said the human rights office would keep a close watch on this issue and probe into the legality of detentions.

Police and national guardsmen detained more than 1,000 for participation in an unauthorized demonstration in the center of Moscow on July 27. More than 600 of them were out-of-towners. According to police sources, more than 3,500 gathered for the demonstration and 295 were detained for violating public order.

The authorities had warned the protestors in advance they would be brought to justice for legal violations. Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin quoted police sources as saying preparations had been underway to stage provocations that might endanger people’s security, life and health. Moscow police also issued a call for refraining from involvement in the demonstration and promised to take the necessary measures to maintain public security and prevent violations of law and order.

The Moscow prosecutor’s office is conducting an administrative investigation into 15 unregistered candidates in the forthcoming Moscow Duma elections who organized illegal demonstrations on July 14 and 27. They ignored the first warning from the prosecutor’s office. Another one followed.