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Russia police arrest opposition leader Kasparov as new group protests

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Russian authorities on Sunday arrested former chess champion and Russian opposition political activist Garry Kasparov and others as they met to form a new political opposition group. Kasparaov's new organization, Solidarnost, is reportedly an outgrowth an umbrella group, Other Russia, of which Kasparov's organization United Civil Front was a member. The goal of Solidarnost is reportedly to "dismantle" the Putin regime in Russia. The protest is partially over a recently passed bill extending the presidential term from four to six years. The protesters were arrested as they arrived at the organizational meeting, indicating police foreknowledge of the event. This is not the first time Kasparov has been arrested at protests against alleged infringements of rights and constitutional freedoms in Russia. In November 2007, Kasparov was arrested at a demonstration in Moscow against President Vladimir Putin, two weeks before parliamentary elections. He accused police of brutality after being arrested at a similar rally in April 2007. Kasparov and fellow opposition leader former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov have strongly criticized Putin and his allies in the run-up to December parliamentary elections and March 2008 presidential election. Kasparov has accused Putin of instituting a police state and creating a puppet judiciary to persecute opposition leaders.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on December 15, 2008 (boomark / email).