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New Suspect in Bolotnaya Protest Rally Case Charged

The latest person to be detained over unrest on Moscow's Bolotnaya Square after a 2012 protest rally was charged Monday with taking part in a mass riot and assaulting a police officer, Interfax reported, citing his lawyer.

Ivan Nepomnyashchikh, 24, was the 33rd suspect to be detained by authorities in connection with the Bolotnaya Square protest of May 6, 2012, the eve of Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency for a third term.

He was detained and placed under house arrest last week on suspicion of assaulting a police offer with an umbrella.

Nepomnyashchikh denies the charges.

Hundreds of protesters were detained after the sanctioned protest against Putin's return to the presidency took a violent turn. Opposition activists claimed they were provoked by police, but the Investigative Committee classified the incident as a "mass riot," subsequently charging 32 people for having allegedly orchestrated riots.

Eleven of those charged were later pardoned under a presidential amnesty in December 2013.

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