Young man on trial for clashing with police at Moscow protests gets suspended sentence

Meshchansky District Court in Moscow on Tuesday handed student Andrei Barshai, a participant of the July 27 unauthorized rally, a three-year suspended sentence. Barshai, 21, was convicted  of  using force against an officer of the Russian National Guard Troops Service.

Barshai was freed at the court room. He had denied any wrongdoing, excluding the fact of ‘a physical contact’ with the officer. During the unauthorized action, Barshai “pushed him in the back,” police said. The student apologized to the law enforcement officer.

More than 3,500 people took to the streets in July last year in support of unregistered candidates to the Moscow City Duma, the regional parliament in the Russian capital.