“March of Dissent” in Moscow Ended in Battle (Photo) :: Charter'97 :: News

The opposition rally in Moscow has finished. Participants of “March of Dissent” gathered on Pushkin Square at 12 noon. The square, like closest streets were filled with riot policemen. When participants made attempts to spread out streamers or chant slogans, they were immediately detained and placed to police buses. Riot policemen used force. Garry Kasparov, Maria Gaidar, Ilya Yashin were arrested on Pushkin Square.

After that several hundreds people, including the leader of the Republican party of Russia Vladimir Ryzhkov. A journalist Yevgenia Albats, a co-chairman of All-Russian Civil Congress Georgiy Satarov, started their march along Strastnoj Boulevard towards Turgenevskaya Square. Protesters went on traffic area. They wave flags of the People’s Democratic Union, the United Civil Front, Oborona movement, National Bolshevik party. They chanted slogans: “Russia without Putin!”, “While we are together, we are invincible!”, “Putin, go away!”

Riot policemen blocked the way to protesters in Rozhdestvenskiy Boulevard. Several protesters were brutally beaten up there. As said by a correspondent of Grani.ru, at least one person was dragged unconscious on the asphalt. People were thrown over the railing and thrown into paddy wagons. On Petrovskiy Boulevard heads of two participants of the march have been fractured. Riot policemen’s actions were very brutal. They beat up and detained even elderly people, who were not resisting.

Then the column of the March divided and head towards Chistye Prudy metro station via side streets. Riot policemen cordoned off the way to them, cutting off groups of several dozens people. As a result about a thousand of people reached Turgenevskaya Square. To join the meeting they had to let their bags be checked by policemen and pass through a check gate metal detector.

As a member of the regional branch of the People’s Democratic Youth Union Igor Drandin told on air of Ekho Moskvy radio station, about 40 representatives of the People’s Democratic Youth Union are kept in “Basmannoe” local police department. “Lots of people, about 40, have been detained,” he said. “They were seated to a paddy wagon and taken to “Basmannoe” local police department. We are staying there now. They apparently want to charge us with taking part in an unsanctioned meeting. However, nobody had presented their credentials or said on what reasons we are kept there. We are sitting and waiting, while reports are being drawn up against us. It is possible we would be taken to courts right after that”.

As the leader of the youth branch of “Yabloko” Ilya Yashin told to Ekho Moskvy radio, he was travelling around Moscow in a paddy wagon together with other arrested, as central police departments hadn’t accepted them.

The Internal Affairs Department of Moscow has confirmed the fact of arrest of Garry Kasparov, the leader of the United Civil Front. He was detained before he came to Pushkin Square. “No explanations for arrest have been given to me. He had been "walking with a group of people along the pavement without any slogans" when riot police had surrounded them. "They grabbed everyone without distinction, without asking any questions," he told Ekho Moskvy.

He called actions of riot policemen “a bandit attack against Russian citizens, who hadn’t been doing anything illegal, just walking down the streets of their capital”.

V. Ryzhkov is set to address the Chief Department of Internal Affairs of Moscow to reasons of opposition leaders and activists during the disband of the “March of Dissent”. Besides, as said by the independent deputy, “it is necessary to bring dozens of legal actions against concrete officials, who have caused a fight in the center of Moscow”.

According Grani.ru correspondent, about 2,000 people have taken part in the meeting on Turgenev Square in Moscow. The meeting lasted for about half an hour. After that 10 buses with riot policemen arrived. Policemen forced people out of the square in the direction of a metro station.

Mikhail Kasyanov, the leader of the National Democratic Union of Russia, a member of the NDUR political council Irina Khakamada, a writer Viktor Shenderovich addressed the meeting. Kasyanov told that the main demand of the opposition is holding free honest elections.

After the meeting participants of the rally headed to a police department of Presnenski district to demand release of Garry Kasparov and other opposition leaders detained on Pushkin Square.

The web source Kasparov.ru reports that riot policemen are trying to force protesters demanding release of the “March of Dissent” leaders away from the police department. Meanwhile, Maria Gaidar and Alexander Ryklin have been released from a police department. Howveer Garry Kasparov is to be taken to Tverskoj court, where the UCF leader is to be fined.

Photo by yahoo.com