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Anti-Kremlin Protesters Held Longer

A Moscow court has extended the pre-trial detention term for three activists detained at violent anti-Kremlin protests on May 6 on Bolotnaya Ploshchad, Interfax reported Friday.

Andrei Barabanov will remain in detention until May 28, Stepan Zimin until June 8 and Yaroslav Belousov until June 10, the Basmanny District Court ruled as it extended the investigation period and set July 6 as the new deadline for the investigation into the clashes that occurred between police and protesters on  the eve of President Vladimir Putin's inauguration.

The extension was attributed to the complexity and high work load of the case: A spokesman for the Investigative Committee told Rapsi legal news portal that investigators still needed to go over 60 volumes of case files.

A total of 21 activists are accused of organizing mass riots and violence against police officers during the opposition rally on Bolotnaya Ploshchad, where more than 400 protesters were detained. Fifteen of them remain in pre-trial detention.

(MT)

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