Some 2,800 People Join Rally in Support of Arrested Ex-Governor in Khabarovsk – Authorities

KHABAROVSK Russia (Sputnik) – Some 2,800 people are taking part in an unauthorized rally in Russia's Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk on Saturday, about a month since the protests in support of arrested former Governor Sergey Furgal erupted across the region, the city administration said.

"The capital of the [Khabarovsk] territory is witnessing a new rally in support of arrested former Governor Sergey Furgal. This time, some 2,800 people have joined it. The number of protesters is decreasing for third week in a row," the administration said in a statement.

A Sputnik correspondent reported that the protesters were carrying the flags of Russia, Khabarovsk Territory and the Soviet Union. The rally caused some traffic problems in the city. Police officers warned the protesters that the rally was unauthorized and called on them to return home, but the demonstration continued.

Then-Governor of the Khabarovsk Territory Furgal, from the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), was detained on 9 July as part of the probe into an organized criminal group involved in killings of business people in the Khabarovsk Territory and the Amur Region in 2004-2005. The detention of Furgal sparked protests across the Khabarovsk Territory.

On 20 July, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Mikhail Degtyarev (also from LDPR) an interim governor of the Khabarovsk Territory, but the protests are still underway.