Unregistered candidate in Moscow legislature elections Gudkov comes to Investigative Committee for questioning
MOSCOW. July 25 (Interfax) - Unregistered opposition candidate in Moscow City Duma elections Dmitry Gudkov arrived at the headquarters of the Investigative Committee's Moscow branch at the appointed time for questioning as a witness in a case opened into obstructing the work of the Moscow City Elections Commission, an Interfax correspondent reported.
According to earlier reports, computer hard drives and other items important to the investigation were seized during an overnight search at Gudkov's apartment.
The seized materials are related to rallies held on July 14, July 15 and July 18, according to investigators.
Moscow's Investigative Committee announced on Wednesday that it had opened a criminal case into obstructing the exercise of voting rights or work of elections commissions.
The investigators will question the organizers and participants in the unauthorized rallies and pickets as part of the inquiry.
On July 14, an unauthorized protest in the form of a mass meeting between independent candidates and their voters, which, according to the Interior Ministry, was attended by about 1,000 people, took place in Moscow. The protesters demanded that the Moscow City Elections Commission register the independent candidates and not discard signatures they collected on technicalities. The protest began in the Novopushkinsky Park and then the protesters walked to the Moscow mayor's office and the Moscow City Elections Commission.