MOSCOW, March 20 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow city authorities have rejected a request by an opposition group to hold a rally on March 31, an official said on Wednesday.
A senior member of the unregistered Other Russia party, Alexander Averin, said the group filed on Monday an application to hold a rally on Triumfalnaya Square, which was scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Moscow time (2 p.m. GMT).
Russian opposition groups led by firebrand writer and politician Eduard Limonov traditionally rally on the last day of each month that has 31 days in defense of their right to freedom of assembly, as enshrined in Article 31 of the Russian Constitution.
The city's top security official, Alexei Mayorov, said the rally organizers had not been granted permission to hold the protest as they had violated the law at previous demonstrations. A law governing protests, approved by President Vladimir Putin last summer, bars anyone guilty of infringements at public events from organizing rallies.
