Russian court sentences anti-Putin activists, detains hundreds

A Russian court on Monday sentenced seven activists to prison terms of up to four years over a protest against President Vladimir Putin as police detained hundreds of supporters outside.

A Moscow district court sentenced seven defendants to penal colony terms of between two-and-a-half and four years for what the judge ruled to be "mass riots" during a 2012 demonstration.

An eighth defendant, Alexandra Naumova, 20-years old and the only woman in the case, was given a suspended sentence of three years and three months.

The high-profile case has become a symbol of the harsh crackdown on opposition protests since Putin resumed the presidency in 2012.

Following his return to the Kremlin, legislation was introduced restricting the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association. 

The eight in the dock were found guilty of hitting policemen and participating in mass riots at Bolotnaya Square, the site of a large scale protest against Putin's inauguration to a third term as president.

"The sentences are harsh and inappropriate. They were issued based on the political situation, not on the nature of the charges," lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky said, adding that the group would appeal.

His client, 22-year-old Yaroslav Belousov, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years for throwing a lemon at a policeman.

Riot police detained hundreds of supporters who gathered outside the court, some shouting slogans such as "Freedom" and "One for all, all for one!"

More than 200 people were detained for "attempts to breach public order," a police spokesman told Agence France Presse (AFP) news agency. Most were released shortly after arriving at police stations.

People later gathered for an evening protest on Moscow's central Manezhnaya square but the entire area was cordoned off with heavy police presence, forcing people to crowd on sidewalks.

Several hundred people stood near the parliament building nearby as police told them to leave through a loudspeaker and detained people in the crowd, according to AFP.

Police said 300 were "trying to violate public order," and 70 people had to be detained.

But Ovdinfo, a group that monitors detentions and arrests, said "a minimum of 315 people were detained" at the square and surrounding streets.

The two released members of protest punk band Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, as well as protest leader Alexei Navalny, were among those detained and tweeted pictures from a police van.

Amnesty International condemned the detentions, saying, "the Russian authorities' rampant violation of freedom of expression and assembly shows no sign of letting up."

The trial is part of a larger case involving 28 individuals arrested during a rally in which tens of thousands marched in protest the day before Putin's May 7, 2012 inauguration. The rally ended in scuffles with police and led to injuries on both sides. 

Although hundreds of anti-government protesters were arrested during the protest, criminal proceedings were only initiated against 28 individuals, of which eight were sentenced today. 

Investigators said the opposition planned to overthrow the government.

Amnesty International called the guilty verdict against the activists a "hideous injustice" and the result of a "show trial."

Judge Natalya Nikishina said Monday that the defendants "took part in mass riots. Their shared blame is established and proved."

But domestic and international human rights advocates maintain that the protest was predominantly peaceful and that authorities described the rally as “mass riots” because it enabled them to bring heavier charges against the accused.

“Contrary to the official line, there was not a mass riot. There was violence, but most of it was at the hands of the police. To this day, however, not a single police officer has been brought to justice for these abuses,” Amnesty said in a press release.

The judge handed down significantly lower sentences than the terms of up to six years that prosecutors had requested.

The court had postponed the sentencing until Monday, with the opposition saying this was to avoid publicity before Sunday's closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

"I'm sure Putin didn't want the triumph of the closing of the Olympics to be accompanied with video footage of the detainees," Navalny told TV Rain independent channel.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that like any other prisoner, those convicted "could apply to the head of state with a request to be pardoned" in comments to Slon.ru website. 

Al Jazeera and Agence France Presse