MOSCOW (AP) — Russian police have detained two officials of a liberal opposition party after a protest rally in Moscow against election fraud.
The Saturday rally by the Yabloko party was sanctioned for 300 participants, but police counted about 350.
Organizer Maya Zavyalova was detained on charges with violating public order, the state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted a police spokesman as saying. The charge carries a fine of 2,000 rubles (about $60).
Yabloko's deputy chairman Sergei Mitrokhin was detained after entering the rally by skirting police security barriers. He was charged with disobeying police, RIA-Novosti said. That charge carries a potential sentence of 15 days in jail.
The rally protested alleged fraud in last December's parliamentary election and called for volunteers to monitor March's presidential vote.
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