Over 100 people rallying in support for Myanmar's Muslims detained on Palace Square in St. Petersburg - source
ST. PETERSBURG. Sept 10 (Interfax) - Policemen have detained more than 100 people who came to Palace Square (Dvortsovaya Ploshchad) in Saint Petersburg to express support of Myanmar's Muslims in an unauthorized demonstration on Sunday, a knowledgeable source told Interfax.
"More than 100 people have been detained for taking part in a demonstration held without approval from the city administration," the source said.
Police officials were not immediately available for comments.
According to some media reports, administrative offence protocols have been filed against some detainees under Article 20.2 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses (violation of legal procedures established for rallies). Some participants of the action will face administrative liability under Article 19.3 of the same code (refusal to obey a legal request by a police officer).
The St. Petersburg governor's office said on its official website that the administration's department on inter-ethnic relations and migration policy implementation on Saturday held a meeting with the heads of the representative offices of those Russian regions where most residents are Muslims. The situation in Myanmar was on the meeting's agenda. The participants adopted an address to the Muslims of St. Petersburg, urging them to refrain from holding any unauthorized rallies in Russia's northern capital in support of Myanmar Muslims. Calls for such rallies had been made through social networking sites.