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Moscow court puts opposition member in custody on mass unrest charges

The man will be remanded until October 11

© Vladimir Gerdo/TASS

MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/. Moscow’s Basmanny District Court has put Yabloko Party member Valery Kostenok in custody on mass unrest charges following the July 27 rally in downtown Moscow, a TASS correspondent reported from the courtroom.

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"The court hereby approves the investigation’s custody request for Kostenok and rules to detain the defendant until October 11," judge Yevgenia Nikolayeva announced.

An Investigative Committee official had said during the court hearing that while at large, Kostenok could meet with other defendants in the case and try to impede the investigation.

The prosecutor, however, objected to putting him in custody. He said that Kostenok had pleaded guilty and placing him under house arrest would be enough.

Kostenok’s lawyer Gadzhi Aliyev told TASS he would file an appeal against the court’s ruling.

Mass unrest case

On Sunday, the Russian Investigative Committee charged Kostenok with participation in mass unrest under Article 212.2 of the Russian Criminal Code. Kostenok was apprehended in front of the Moscow Mayor’s Office on July 27. A video was posted on the Internet earlier that showed him throwing bottles towards National Guard officers.

Other defendants in the case include Yevgeny Kovalenko, Kirill Zhukov, Ivan Podkopayev, Samariddin Radzhabov, Alexei Minyailo, Yegor Zhukov, Daniil Konon, Vladislav Barabanov, Sergei Abanichev, Aidar Gubaidulin, Sergei Fomin and Danila Beglets.

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