Riot police beat up an AKM picket

On August 9, 2005, the Vanguard of the Red Youth (AKM) held a rally in Moscow in support of political prisoners and against the arbitrariness of law enforcement agencies. Approximately 30 AKM activists, handcuffed, formed a human chain, chained themselves to the fence of the Prosecutor General's Office and blocked Bolshaya Dmitrovka (which caused a huge traffic jam near the building of the Prosecutor General's Office).

The protesters demanded a meeting with Prosecutor General Ustinov, scattered leaflets and chanted slogans: "No to political repressions!", "Freedom to political prisoners!", "Freedom to members of the NBP!". The security of the building and the police tried to open the handcuffs with keys, but they failed. After 15 minutes, the handcuffs were cut, after which the chain of chained people was loaded into a bus and taken away by the Tverskoye police department. They are accused of violating order during the picket. Several passers-by who supported the demands of the protesters were also detained.

The riot police, who arrived at the scene, beat protesters and journalists. According to the press service of the AKM, there are victims among the participants of the action. One of the AKM activists, Mikhail Lomako, had his arm broken during his arrest. Hand injuries are also present in several participants of the action. In connection with these injuries, the victims will file a complaint with the prosecutor's office.

On August 10, 2005, it became known that the Department of Internal Affairs of the Tverskoy District of Moscow was preparing for submission to the court materials on AKM activists who had staged an unauthorized picket near the building of the Prosecutor General's Office. Law enforcement agencies intend to detain two participants, Mikhail Adamovich and Maria Kolyada, for a long time.

On August 31, 2005, a group of AKM activists were found guilty of an administrative offense under Part 2 of Art. 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and sentenced to a fine, Gazeta.ru reported. The size of the group is not reported.

Sources

• Picket AKM ended in the police // Polit.Ru. 2005. 9 August.
• AKM handcuffed to the Prosecutor General's Office // Student truth. 2005. 9 August.
• AKM activists will be sued // IA Rosbalt. 2005. August 10.
• AKM activists fined for picket near Prosecutor General's Office // Center "Demos". 2005. August 31.