Kasparov arrested in Moscow opposition demo

MOSCOW—Opposition leader and chess legend Garry Kasparov was arrested on Saturday after scuffling with riot police during a protest a week ahead of legislative elections, AFP reporters saw.
Kasparov and one of his bodyguards were grabbed by riot police and forced into a police bus which then drove them away from the scene where hundreds of opposition activists were in a tense standoff with security forces. “Freedom! Freedom!” supporters shouted as the bus drove off in central Moscow, journalists said.
The arrest came after activists from the radical left-wing National Bolshevik party, a member of The Other Russia opposition coalition led by Kasparov, broke through police lines and marched down a main Moscow avenue. They were quickly joined by activists and leaders from other opposition groups who headed toward the offices of the Central Election Commission where they wanted to deliver a petition protesting the fairness of the upcoming vote. About half a dozen other activists were also arrested at the same location. ITAR-TASS said a total of around 20 people were detained. In a statement ahead of Saturday’s march, The Other Russia acknowledged that Moscow municipal authorities had not given permission for the planned march but said the group planned to go ahead with it anyway to protest the election.
The petition would assert that the December 2 elections to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, “are neither free nor fair,” the statement said. Prior to the march and Kasparov’s arrest, around 2,000 supporters of The Other Russia held a rally where they were joined by Boris Nemtsov, the leader of the liberal opposition party Union of Right Forces (SPS).
“Putin is a coward. We elected a coward. He’s afraid of peaceful people,” said Nemtsov, as hundreds of riot police stood by on a deserted street near the centre of the city. Intimidation from the authorities limited the number of people present, said Nemtsov, who was nominated on Friday by the SPS as the party’s candidate for the presidency. “People are afraid, they have been told there will be disorder, they have been told there will be an attack on me. The authorities want us to be afraid, but in fact it is they who are afraid,” Nemtsov said. Hours ahead of Saturday’s demonstration, police raided an office housing the website of The Other Russia, a spokeswoman said.
The Other Russia rally was one of around 10 political demonstrations scheduled to take place in the Russian capital on Saturday, media reported. On Red Square, around 2,000 members of the youth group Nashi rallied to show their support for President Vladimir Putin.
Many were holding white balloons which they said were intended to symbolise the “airheads” of the opposition. “These are our rivals,” said Sasha Isayev, 20, pointing to his balloon. “They are stupid and ridiculous opponents.” Elsewhere in Moscow, the Communist Party held a rally as did a handful of other pro- and anti-Putin groups. Echo of Moscow radio station said around 3,600 police officers were on special duty to supervise the rallies, with more than half of them assigned to The Other Russia gathering alone.
Separately, the SPS said its main office was vandalized by youths who broke several windows at the building ahead of Saturday’s rally. A number of participants and journalists covering a march of The Other Russia early this year were injured when riot police violently dispersed the demonstration, drawing international criticism. Subsequent public rallies in Moscow and other cities however have been mainly without violence.—Agencies