Basmanny court to consider extension of the oppositionist Udaltsov house arrest

The Basmanny Court of Moscow on Monday will the investigation motion on the extension of the house arrest term for the leader of the Left Front movement Sergei Udaltsov in the case of the preparation for mass disorders in Russia. The Basmanny Court on February 9 granted the investigator’s motion to change the measure of restraint for the oppositionist from recognizance not to leave to house arrest for the period up to April 6. Udaltsov is in his apartment in Zatonskaya Street, he is forbidden to leave the apartment, to communicate with anyone except the lawyers and close relatives, to use any means of communication, including telephone and the Internet. Udaltsov is charged within the case of rioting and violence against representatives of the authorities in Bolotnaya Square in Moscow, as well as with preparations for mass unrest in Russia. The case of the preparation of riots in Russia was opened after the NTV television showed the film “Anatomy of a Protest-2,” in which Udaltsov and his aides were negotiating with the head of the Georgian Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Security, Givi Targamadze, and discussed with him the preparation of mass riots and their financing from abroad. The Russian Investigative Committee (SK) on January 10 consolidated this case with the case of the mass disorders in Bolotnaya Square in Moscow. The Bolotnaya Square case was opened after the events of May 6, 2012, when the government allowed the opposition forces to stage a rally in Bolotnaya Square of the RF capital. The rally turned into clashes with police and rioting. More than 400 people were detained on that day for wrongful acts, about 30 policemen and dozens of civilians were injured. There are a total of 19 defendants in the Bolotnaya Square riots case, one suspect is wanted. Targamadze was arrested in absentia by the Basmanny Court of Moscow and put on the international wanted list. Udaltsov’s aide Leonid Razvozzhayev is currently in a pre-trial detention centre, the other negotiator Konstantin Lebedev is under house arrest.