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Over 130 people detained for taking part in unauthorized rally in downtown Moscow - UPDATED

10 August 2019 22:32 (UTC +04:00)

Police officers and the Russian National Guard have detained 136 people for taking part in an unauthorized event in central Moscow held by the opposition after an authorized rally in support of unregistered Moscow City Duma candidates, the press service of the Interior Ministry’s Main Moscow Directorate informed TASS on Saturday, APA reports.

"A total of 136 people have been detained for various wrongdoings during an unauthorized event in downtown Moscow," the police said.

After a rally and a concert on Sakharov Avenue, the protesters held an unauthorized rally gathering in Maroseika Street, Lubyansky Passage and near the Monument to the Heroes of Plevna. Traffic in Maroseika Street was blocked due to that. Now the situation there is calm, almost all protesters have left the area.

Ahead of the Saturday rally, social media posts called for ‘peaceful walks’ after the end of the authorized event. Due to that, the Moscow police warned about the inadmissibility of calls for unauthorized events, stressing that attempts to hold unauthorized public events and any provocations would be regarded as a threat to public order and would be quelled immediately.

For its part, the Russian Investigative Committee recalled that participation in such unauthorized events entailed legal consequences, including criminal liability.

***20:22

Police and Russian National Guard members detained about 10 people who gathered in the center of Moscow after an authorized rally on Sakharov Avenue, APA reports ciuting TASS.

A TASS correspondent reported that, after the end of the rally, some of its participants went "for a walk" and started gathering near the Monument to the Heroes of Plevna. Police officers and National Guard members began to detain the participants in the unauthorized event.

According to the Interior Ministry’s Moscow Directorate, about 20,000 people took part in the authorized rally and concert on Sakharov Avenue.

That was the fourth rally in support of unregistered candidates in the Moscow City Duma election. The previous ones were held on July 20, July 27 and August 3. Of these, only the July 20 event was authorized.