Russian opposition leader jailed

Mon Jan 3, 2011

Russian opposition leader and former first deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov has been sentenced to 15 days in prison for participating in an opposition rally on New Year's Day in Moscow.

Nemtsov was convicted in a Moscow court on Sunday for failing to follow police instruction during the demonstration at a central Moscow square, AFP reported.

Russian police arrested Nemtsov along with nearly 130 others during an opposition rally on Friday. At least 300 protesters participated in the demonstration, chanting anti-government slogans, AFP reported.

The protesters were calling for freedom of speech, broader political freedoms and the release of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky whose jail term was extended by six years last week.

Police also arrested opposition writer and leader of the radical National Bolshevik Party Eduard Limonov and leader of the youth wing of the liberal Yabloko group Ilya Yashin.

Shortly after Limonov's arrest, a court sentenced him to 15 days in jail for insulting police during his detention, said a court spokesman, Pyotr Chenik.

There are no reports of violence during Friday's demonstrations.

Opposition leaders call regular demonstrations on the last day of the month to assert the right of freedom of assembly.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/158443.html.