The leader of the opposition Yabloko party was released after paying a 1,000-ruble (about $30) fine for disobeying police orders at Saturday’s rally.
About 350 people participated on Saturday in a rally organized by Yabloko party on Chistye Prudy in Moscow.
Sergei Mitrokhin, who headed the party since 2008, was detained for disobeying the demands of the police. According to officers’ testimony, Mitrokhin refused to go through metal detectors, “pushed through the barriers, shoved police officers and called on participants to follow him without inspection.”
The Yabloko leader pleaded not guilty and argued that the incident was provoked by unlawful actions of police, who “cordoned off the site not for the safety of protestors, but to keep people away from it.”
The organizer of the event, Maiya Zavialova, was also held by the police as the rally exceeding the agreed number of participants.
