Russian ‘bystander’ gets three-and-a-half years in a penal colony for a protest he said he did not take part in
- The sentencing brought to six the number of people jailed for taking part in a recent wave of anti-government demonstrations in Russia
A Moscow court on Monday sentenced a 23-year-old actor to three-and-a-half years in prison for violence against police at an opposition protest even though he claimed he was simply a bystander.
Moscow’s Tverskoy district court sentenced actor Pavel Ustinov to serve the sentence in a penal colony despite pleas from activists and prominent figures to let him go.
Ustinov denied any guilt, insisting he was a passer-by and was not taking part in the protest.
Investigators said Ustinov violated public order during an unauthorised rally on August 3 and put up resistance during his arrest. As a result, a policeman sprained his shoulder.
Footage from the scene showed several police in full riot gear lunging at Ustinov – who was standing with a phone in his hand near a metro station – and beating him with batons.