Kasparov detained at anti-Putin rally

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, who leads the United Civil Front against the Kremlin...

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, who leads the United Civil Front against the Kremlin, was on Saturday detained by OMON special riot police, at an Opposition rally near Pushkin Square in Moscow.

The March of Dissent rally was organised by Opposition coalition Other Russia, which includes the People’s Patriotic Union led by former premier Mikhail Kasyanov, the banned National Bolshevik Party, the Republican Party, and Kasparov’s United Civil Front. The Other Russia accuses Putin of muzzling democracy in Russia.

Kasparov was detained, along with about 130 people, during a huge security operation to prevent protesters from gathering at Pushkin Square, said spokesman for city police Viktor Biryukov. Some 9,000 policemen had been deployed in the city ahead of the rally.

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Kasparov’s lawyer Karina Moskalenko told Interfax news agency that the former world chess champion, had been escorted to a court from the police department. “It is possible that the administrative cases will be filed there,” Moskalenko said.

Russian human rights groups termed Kasparov’s arrest as unlawful.

The March of Dissent came as Russian officials said they would ask Britain to arrest Russian tycoon Berezovsky, strip him of his political asylum status and extradite him to Russia to face prosecution.The London-based Berezovsky told a British paper that he was plotting “revolution” to overthrow Putin.

The Other Russia has also called a rally at St Petersburg, Putin’s hometown, on Sunday, which Moscow has already banned.