Leaders of the opposition Solidarity movement Boris Nemtsov and Mikhail Schneider were detained by police for attempts to stage an unsanctioned march in Moscow, a spokesman for the Moscow police said on Sunday.
The opposition gathered for an authorized rally at the intersection of Novy Arbat Street and the Garden Ring on Sunday to mark National Flag Day, while Nemtsov and Schneider called on those gathered to stage an unsanctioned march in Novinsky Boulevard, Viktor Biryukov said.
"After numerous warnings by police about the illegitimacy of their actions, they were detained," Biryukov said.
According to the police spokesman, both Nemtsov and Schneider made their attempt of an unsanctioned march on purpose to be detained by the police.
Nemtsov told RIA Novosti over the phone that he had been detained for staging an unsanctioned march but the exact formulation of his detainment would be known after a protocol was drawn up.
The Moscow authorities earlier announced the closure of Triumfalnaya Square in downtown Moscow to build an underground car park, a move the opposition says is aimed at preventing them from gathering at the site.
Opposition groups have chosen Triumfalnaya Square as a venue for Marches of Dissent, held on the last day of each 31-day-month to defend the right to freedom of assembly, as enshrined in Article 31 of the Russian Constitution. Russian opposition and human rights activists have already applied to the Moscow City Hall to hold a March of Dissent on August 31.
MOSCOW, August 22 (RIA Novosti)
