Thousands of people have demonstrated in Moscow for the release of political prisoners. After police appraisals, about 20,000 protest participants gathered in the Russian capital.
With the rally, the liberal opposition continued its summer protests. They were directed against the exclusion of many candidates from the Moscow election to the regional parliament in early September.
Numerous demonstrators were arrested during the protests. High prison sentences of up to four years and the brutal crackdown by the police led to an unusually loud public outcry (read more here).
Navalny participated
The well-known Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny also took part in the new protesters in Moscow. Protesters called for "freedom for all" and called on the authorities to release the demonstrators arrested during the protests in recent weeks.
Authorities accuse the arrested of breaking law and violence against police officers. The dissolution of demonstrations justified the police with the fact that the protests had not been approved. The current rally, however, was allowed by the Moscow mayor.