Last week, the organizers of Saturday’s rally on Sakharov Avenue asked the city authorities to greenlight holding a march on August, 17 in Moscow, the influential Russian newspaper Kommersant reports with reference to Elena Filina, a deputy of the municipal council and member of the organizing committee.
“We are trying to get a go-ahead for a march along the boulevards of Moscow on August, 17. We have announced alleged 30,000 participants’ being involved,” she said.
In mid July, Russians started protesting against the authorities’ refusal to register opposition and independent candidates for the Moscow City Duma elections.
14 people are defendants in the criminal proceedings under Art. 318-1 (using force against against a public officer) and Art. 212-2 (participation in mass disorders) after their showing up at the rally on July, 27 and August, 3.
On Monday, opposition activist Ilya Yashin, who was failed to be registered as a candidate, has pudlished an open letter urging head of the Central Election Commission to cancel the elections at all. Moreover, the protesters are demanding the persecution of detainees be stopped.
As reported earlier, the Russian police detained about 339 people in five Russian cities in connection with the August, 10 protests.
