Venediktov: HSE student Zhukov was accused of “mass riots” for trying to lead the crowd away from the roadway

21-year-old HSE student Yegor Zhukov was accused of participating in mass riots (Part 2 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code) for trying to lead the crowd from the roadway to the sidewalk during a protest on July 27, the radio station’s chief editor Alexey Venediktov said on Ekho Moskvy.

On August 2, at the request of the investigation, Zhukov was placed under arrest until September 27. The case file mentioned a video recording in which “the indicated persons make gestures to the right.”

Venediktov said that his “interlocutors” showed him a video where Zhukov leads a column of protesters: “I watch the video and say: “Guys, is everything okay in our heads? Here you, I, have what we see. Look, he is moving the column from the roadway to the pedestrian part. That is, he is bringing order out of chaos."

On July 27, a rally for the admission of independent candidates to the Moscow City Duma elections took place in the center of Moscow. Citizens planned to gather near the city hall, but security forces blocked some of the streets. As a result, the protesters staged a march through the center of Moscow.

Soon, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case about “the use of violence against government officials” and “mass riots.” Nine people have already passed through it, six of them have been arrested.