Moscow - Several hundred people have been arrested during
demonstrations against alleged irregularities in the run-up to local
polls in the Russian capital Moscow, protest organizers said
Saturday.
Russian activists protested outside the Moscow mayor's office,
shouting "you are a disgrace for Russia," after several opposition
candidates were controversially rejected from the ballot for upcoming
city council elections.
Civil rights blog OWD-Info said more than 700 protesters had been
detained. Police could be seen arresting many people and placing them
in police vehicles around the town hall building. Dpa reporters at
the protests also witnessed some injured demonstrators.
Police had previously warned of a crackdown on the rally, which had
not been authorized by city authorities. According to police, some
3,500 participated in the protest and 300 people were arrested. Many
had travelled to Moscow from other cities.
Law enforcement officers detain a participant of a rally calling for opposition candidates to be registered for elections to Moscow City Duma, the capital's regional parliament. Picture: Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters
Police had said they would "take every measure needed" to "fend off
any breach of the public order," state news agency TASS reported.
During the rally, police closed off access to the town hall with cars
and buses and conducted ID checks on many protesters. Some of the
detained were released again by Saturday evening.
One protester, who spoke to dpa but wished to remain anonymous, said:
"What is happening here is illegal. Politics is breaking our rights."
Police officers detain a man during an unsanctioned rally in the centre of Moscow, Russia. Picture: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP
The protesters are demanding that independent candidates be allowed
on the ballot for the city elections on September 8. A total of 57
candidates have been rejected from the ballot, including prominent
government critics Ilya Yashin, Dmitry Gudkov and Lyubov Sobol.
Gubkov, Sobol and Yashin were arrested on their way to the protest.
The electoral commission registered 233 candidates to compete for the
45 seats in Moscow's city council.
Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally calling for opposition candidates to be registered for elections to Moscow City Duma, the capital's regional parliament. Picture: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
The electoral commission has said the documents handed in by the
rejected candidates had been flagged as fake, as they included
mistakes such as missing letters or fake signatures from supporters.
The rejected politicians have called these claims absurd and said
their documents had been manipulated.
One protester who gave her name as Natalya said she was afraid of
being arrested, but added: "I am more afraid of the future: that
cheating like this becomes the norm."
Law enforcement officers detain a participant of a rally calling for opposition candidates to be registered for elections to Moscow City Duma, the capital's regional parliament. Picture: Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters
Gudkov, the opposition politician, told radio Echo Moskvy that they
had been banned so that they would not take votes away from the
victory of the ruling United Russia party.
The ruling party has been slumping in the polls recently, deemed
responsible for the sluggish economy. United Russia pushed through a
controversial pensions reform, while wages and living standards are
down.
Last weekend thousands of demonstrators, including protest leader
Alexei Navalny, attended a similar rally in central Moscow.
People help a wounded man during a rally calling for opposition candidates to be registered for elections to Moscow City Duma, the capital's regional parliament. Picture: Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters
Navalny was arrested a few days later on a misdemeanour charge of
organizing an unauthorized public gathering and sentenced to 30 days
in jail.
"It's obvious they are arresting me for calling the protest on the
27th," Navalny said in a video taken while in custody. "Because they
are arresting me, I, of course, ask you to come out to the protest."
Navalny came in second in the 2013 Moscow mayoral election, with
about a quarter of the official vote count. He has been repeatedly
detained for organizing rallies without state approval.
Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally calling for opposition candidates to be registered for elections to Moscow City Duma, the capital's regional parliament. Picture: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
The last time Moscow's authorities moved this harshly against
protesters was in June. More than 400 people were arrested when they
marched to show their support for investigative journalist Ivan
Golunov, who had been arrested on spurious grounds.