Russian President Medvedev Backs Police Action to Quell Football Fan Riots
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev backed police actions to disperse violent rallies held by nationalist football fans in Moscow and St. Petersburg yesterday, according to a statement posted on the Kremlin website.
A rally of 5,500-people in central Moscow in memory of Spartak football club fan Yegor Sviridov, who was shot dead in a clash with migrants from Northern Caucasus on Dec. 6, turned violent yesterday, with 32 people injured and 66 arrested, according to Interfax news service. Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev blamed the clashes on nationalist groups in comments carried by state television.
Russia’s law enforcement have the right to use all the means permitted by law to prevent such incidents, Medvedev said. A smaller rally was held yesterday in St.Petersburg, Russia’s second-biggest city.
Moscow city police Chief Vladimir Kolokoltsev told the protesters yesterday the investigation into Sviridov’s death will be carried out properly. Seven people remained in hospital today, including two whose condition was grave, after attacks targeted at people from the Northern Caucasus, according to Interfax.
To contact the reporters on this story: Denis Maternovsky in Moscow at dmaternovsky@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net
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