Russian police arrest 569 people in second night of poll protests

[News_Editor]

Russian police arrest 569 people in second night of poll protests

2011-12-08 01:10:09 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOSCOW (BNO NEWS) -- Russian police arrested more than 560 people on Tuesday as Moscow witnessed a second evening of protests over alleged electoral fraud by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.

Opponents of the party faced off with United Russia supporters amid a heavy police presence in Moscow's Triumfalnaya Square. "They attempted to block traffic and refused to obey the legal demands of police," a Moscow police spokesman said about the detainees.

A law enforcement source told the Itar-Tass news agency that 569 people were taken into custody during the demonstration, which according to police involved some 2,000 people. The protests came one day after thousands protested the outcome of Sunday's parliamentary elections.

Among those arrested during the protests was anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny and opposition activist Ilya Yashin. They were both sentenced to 15 days in prison for refusing to obey police orders, reports said.

Opponents have alleged that the elections were marred by large-scale fraud, resulting in a hugely inflated score for the party. United Russia won more votes than any of the other three parties, but it still suffered a significant drop from the two-thirds constitutional majority it has enjoyed for the past four years.

With nearly 100 percent of ballots counted, the ruling United Russia party has nearly 50 percent of the vote, the Communist Party 19.2 percent, A Just Russia 13.25 percent and the Liberal Democrats 12 percent.

International observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other institutions also said the election was marred by irregularities. Party supporters, too, have acknowledged some violations but have countered that those were not sufficient to have altered the outcome.

Meanwhile, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that complaints of vote irregularities need to be investigated, according to RIA Novosti.

European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek commented on the elections, saying that he regrets that the election campaign "was marked by limited political competition and a lack of fairness." He also expressed concern about the detention of opposition activists, including blogger Navalny.

"I call for the immediate release of all those unfairly detained and for the end of the intimidation against the people who are legitimately calling for a fairer and freer political system," Buzek said in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also condemned the elections and called for an investigation. Speaking at a meeting of the 56-nation Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vilnius, Lithuania, Clinton said Russia's elections were "neither free nor fair."

"Russian voters deserve a full investigation of electoral fraud and manipulation," Clinton said, adding that the U.S. hopes that the Russian authorities will take action.

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