A Moscow regional court has sentenced oppositionist Sergei Udaltsov to ten days in jail, following a sanctioned rally in Moscow during which police accused him of disobeying their orders, Kasparov.ru reports.
According to Anastasia Udaltsova, press secretary for Udaltsov’s Left Front movement, the oppositionist does not believe he is guilty and has announced a hunger strike for the duration of his arrest.
Judge Yelena Abramova convicted Udaltsov on charges of disobeying the lawful demands of a police officer – an administrative offense in Russia.
Udaltsov was first detained on February 12 when approximately 500 protesters gathered on Moscow’s Teatralnaya Square for the Russian opposition’s monthly Day of Wrath protest. It was the first time that city authorities had agreed to sanction the rally, with previous events routinely cracked down on by police. Udaltsov also applied for permission to hold a march following the protest ...
