Russian opposition leader Sergei Udaltsov was sentenced to 10 days behind bars on Thursday after being arrested at a weekend rally to protest Vladimir Putin’s victory at March 4 presidential polls.
"My supporters and I only wanted to walk peacefully after the rally to Pushkin Square - this is not forbidden, we are free citizens," Left Front movement leader Udaltsov, 34, said in court.
He also announced he would go on hunger strike in protest at the court’s decision. He spent most of December in jail on protest-related charges and went on hunger strike while behind bars to draw attention to what he says is his persecution by the authorities.
Udaltsov was detained after leading dozens of protesters who had broken off from a March 10 approved rally to march toward Pushkin Square, the traditional gathering place for Soviet-era dissidents, and was charged with failing to obey police instructions.
Police also detained Udaltsov - along with dozens of other people - after a rally at the square on March 5.
Fellow protest leader Alexei Navalny was fined 1,000 rubles ($34) on Thursday for his part in that protest.
Udaltsov was one of the key figures behind the mass demonstrations that rocked Russia after disputed parliamentary polls in December. His Left Front movement signed a cooperation deal with the Communist Party in mid-January and analysts have suggested he could eventually succeed veteran party leader, Gennady Zyuganov.
He has also called for a million-strong rally to take place in Moscow on May 5, two days before Putin's inauguration.
