Russia May Charge Two More Anti-Putin Activists Over May 6 Rally

Russia may charge two more people with participating in mass unrest and using violence against police, crimes that carry a maximum sentence of eight years in jail, the Investigative Committee said.

The charges relate to a mass protest in Moscow on May 6 against President Vladimir Putin’s re-election, the law- enforcement agency in Moscow said on its website today. Prosecutors have charged one person with these offenses.

Russian lawmakers this week approved a disputed bill that increases the maximum fine for protesters who violate the law 150-fold to 300,000 rubles ($9,160) from 2,000 rubles and to as much as 600,000 rubles for organizers.

The opposition, which hasn’t received permission yet to hold its next planned march in Moscow on June 12, condemned the initiative as an attempt to stifle the constitutional right to free assembly. A presidential human rights commission asked Putin not to sign the measure into law, saying it violates the Constitution.

To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net