Moscow court reverses Mitrokhin election ban

A Moscow court on Tuesday canceled a decision by the election commission to bar opposition candidate Sergei Mitrokhin from running in Moscow's upcoming city council vote.

The Moscow city court ruled that the electoral commission should immediately register Mitrokhin of the centrist Yabloko party as a candidate, according to Russian state news agencies.

Read more: Moscow protests: 'It is our civic duty to go out on the streets'

'Give us the right to vote'

Tens of thousands of people gathered in the Russian capital, Moscow, on Saturday to protest the exclusion of opposition and independent candidates from the vote.

It was the latest in a wave of actions that have taken place since mid-July in support of independent candidates for the Moscow City Duma. 

Protesters carried placards with slogans such as "Give us the right to vote!" and "You've lied to us enough," while others held up pictures of activists arrested at earlier protests.

Tough policing

Permission for the demonstration had been given by authorities, however police rounded up groups of protesters when they left the authorized area and marched towards the Kremlin. Officers were accused of taking a heavy-handed approach to detaining people, including tackling protesters and dragging them onto buses.

"We believe the tough actions of law enforcement officers in stopping the riots were absolutely justified," Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.
Read more: Russia protests: Police arrest hundreds at Moscow rally

kw/aw (dpa, Reuters)

DW sends out a daily selection of the day's news and features. Sign up here.