Over 200 people detained at unauthorized rally in Moscow
MOSCOW. Nov 5 (Interfax) - Over 200 people participating in an unauthorized rally were detained in central Moscow, a source with knowledge on the matter told Interfax.
A total of 230 people were detained in the Manezh Square and in Tverskaya Street as of 2:15 p.m. Moscow time, the source said. Some of them had bladed weapons and traumatic weapons on them, the source said.
Polina Nemirovskaya, human rights manager of the movement Open Russia, earlier told Interfax over 50 people had bene detained in central Moscow. The people were detained in the Manezh Square and now it is reported that detentions are being made on Tverskaya [Street]," Nemirovskaya said.
There is a minor among the people detained on the Pushkin Square, she said. The detainees are being taken to the Kitai-Gorod, Tverskoye and Bogorodskoye police stations, Open Russia has sent defense lawyers there, Nemirovskaya said.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday it had stopped the activities of a group of the Artpodgotovka movement, which planned to carry out arson at administrative buildings and attacks on police officers in the Moscow region on November 4-5. The special service believes the unregistered interregional movement Artpodgotovka and its Internet project were created by Russian citizen Vyacheslav Maltsev "to organize a revolution in Russia."
A criminal case was opened against Maltsev in July 2017 for making public calls for extremism (a crime enshrined by Article 280 of the Russian Criminal Code). He left the country for fear of being arrested and continues "propagandizing violence" on the Internet, the Federal Security Service said.