MOSCOW, July 29./TASS/. The Shcherbinka District Court of Moscow has arrested Ilya Yashin, the chairman of the Moscow Krasnoselsky Municipal District’s Council of Deputies, for ten days for organizing an unsanctioned rally in Moscow on July 27, court sources have told TASS.
"The court found Yashin guilty of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 20.2 of the Russian Administrative Offences Code (violating the established procedure for organizing or holding a rally) and imposed a penalty of a ten-day administrative arrest," a court spokesperson said.
On July 31, Moscow’s Troitsk Court will look into another administrative violation that Yashin is charged with under Part 2 of Article 20.2 (organizing a public event without submitting notification in an established procedure) — unsanctioned rallies on July 14 and 15.
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. Some 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 for provocations that might endanger people’s security, life and health. Moscow police issued a call for refraining from participation 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.