Thirty demonstrators, including a woman on crutches who was over 70 years old, were detained Saturday at an unauthorized protest in support of suspects in the criminal case over violence at last May's anti-Kremlin rally on Bolotnaya Ploshchad.
In a show of support for the 27 suspects accused of taking part in violent clashes with police last May 6, protesters first held one-man pickets on Manezh Square, taking turns, and then walked across Red Square.
Fifteen of the suspects in the so-called Bolotnoye case are currently in detention.
Pickets in support of the suspects are currently held every day, while rallies on Red Square are organized each weekend.
During Saturday's pickets, the activists held posters reading "Bolotnoye case — this is how criminal cases were fabricated in the 1930s," a reference to Josef Stalin's show trials, and "Bolotnoye case — Putin's regime is mired in lies."
Of those detained, 27 were arrested on Red Square. Three activists who came to support detainees at the Zamoskvorechye police station were also arrested, and one was beaten, according to OVD-Info, a detention monitoring site.
Police began rounding up protesters after several of them held up sheets of paper, each with one letter on it, to spell out "May 6, 2013."
The date referred to the upcoming opposition rally to mark the anniversary of the clashes on Bolotnaya Ploshchad.
One of the protesters also unfurled a poster with instructions for police on how to lawfully detain people, while another activist had "Putin is a thief and murderer" written on her iPad.
While an elderly woman on crutches explained the opposition's views to passers-by, with a crowd of onlookers gradually surrounding her, police detained her and escorted her to a police van.
According to OVD-info, all detainees were released by Saturday night, some with misdemeanor charges filed against them.
Police were not immediately available for comment on Sunday.
Video: An elderly woman on crutches being detained on Red Square.
Contact the author at o.sukhov@imedia.ru
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