700+ join unsanctioned rally in Moscow, call to allow rejected candidates contest city elections
With one week to go until Moscow city council elections, several hundred people teamed up for an unsanctioned rally, demanding that city bosses drop what they say was an unfair ban on some candidates competing.
The rally –smaller in size than previous ones– kicked off on Saturday afternoon, with throngs of participants showing up at Chistoprudny Boulevard. The iconic location in the center of the Russian capital had been already picked as an assembly point for similar protests before.
This time, people followed calls by one of the disqualified candidates, Lubov Sobol, who, along with other opposition figures of the Moscow council had been rejected because of suspected signature-collection fraud. The rally had not been approved by the city hall, which said it was unable to provide security for the gathering, due to a large number of other events on that day.
Having met up at the boulevard, people then started moving towards Pushkinskaya Square, located just about two kilometers northwest of the Kremlin. There, surrounded by supporters, Sobol again called for the dropping of the ban and the release of protesters detained during earlier unsanctioned rallies.
After making a brief speech, she then left the gathering and made her way to the metro station.
Organizers reported around 2,000 people taking part in the event, while the Interior Ministry put the number at 750. Police were seen blocking parts of the square, urging people to disperse. Though the rally was not authorized, it went ahead peacefully and no arrests were made.
The Saturday event was much smaller than previous ones. Some of the banned rallies over the past weeks turned violent, with hundreds of people detained. Most of those arrested were later released –a number of them also getting fined for taking part in unsanctioned rally. However, several activists faced charges of provoking mass unrest and public disturbances, and remain in custody.
Moscow city council elections are set for September, 8 and will see candidates compete for 45 seats in the legislature.
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