Russian opposition leader detained ahead of protest rally

Russian opposition leader detained ahead of protest rally

2011-01-01 05:49:21 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (BNO NEWS) -- Russian opposition leader Eduard Limonov on Friday was arrested by police forces ahead of a protest rally on Moscow, RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Limonov was arrested while he was preparing to join an opposition rally at the Triumfalnaya Square. The opposition leader of The Other Russia was taken to a local police station for a prophylactic discussion.

At about 6:00 p.m. local time, two rallies are expected to take place at Moscow’s Triumfalnaya Square. However, one rally is sanctioned by authorities while the other is not. The one held by rights advocates and led by human rights leader Lyudmila Alekseyeva is sanctioned and the one led by Limonov is unsanctioned.

Police forces have cordoned off the Moscow’s square ahead of the two rallies. For over a year, protesters have attempted to hold rallies at the Triumfalnaya Square the last day of each month which has 31 days.

The rallies are intended to demand that the government respect the Article 31 of the Russian constitution that guarantees freedom of assembly. However, requests were turned down by former mayor Yury Luzhkov.

After Luzhkov was dismissed by President Dmitry Medvedev, current mayor Sergei Sobyanin sanctioned a rally back in October but an inner dispute between the protest’s leaders in regards to the number of participants complicated the rally.

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