MOSCOW, February 8 (RIA Novosti) – A French reporter was injured and about 40 people were detained on Saturday in Moscow for an attempt to hold an “unauthorized rally” in support of Russia’s independent Dozhd TV, the channel said.
A group of people gathered at the Manezh Square close to the Kremlin carrying open umbrellas in support of Dozhd, whose name is the Russian word for “rain.”
The protest followed decisions by Russia’s biggest satellite and cable television providers to exclude the liberal-leaning channel from its satellite packages in response to a dispute over a World War II opinion poll.
The poll on Dozhd's website had asked whether the city of Leningrad, which endured a dreadful 900-siege, should have been abandoned to Nazi German forces to save lifes.
Moscow police said in a statement that it had dispersed “a group of people who attempted to hold a rally that was not duly coordinated with the authorities.”
“Despite multiple demands by police officers, those citizens failed to stop their illegal activities,” a police spokesman said. “About 40 people were taken to police stations.”
A woman was injured, whom Dozhd identified as French reporter Nathalie Ouvaroff. The channel said the journalist was rushed to hospital. Doctors suspect a hip fracture.
