Garry Kasparov cleared of protesting at Pussy Riot trial

[alp227]

Former world chess champion turned Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov has unexpectedly been cleared of taking part in an unsanctioned protest against the conviction of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot.

Kasparov, an opposition leader, was among dozens of activists picked out of a crowd and detained outside the court where the Pussy Riot trial ended on 17 August. Three of the band's members were given two-year jail sentences for "hooliganism" after staging a political protest against President Vladimir Putin in a Moscow cathedral.

Kasparov, 49, was speaking to journalists outside the trial when police grabbed him. He said he was beaten by police, but police claimed he bit an officer's finger.

A court in Moscow decided on Friday that police witnesses had not proven he had taken part in an unsanctioned protest and acquitted him.

full: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/25/garry-kasparov-pussy-riot-trial-russia

[dimbear]

1. OK. I see how it happened now. The cop hit him in the mouth and claimed he bit

him.

This just struck me as so weird, Kasparov as Mike Tyson just didn't go.

Now let Pussy Riot go too, commies.

[surrealAmerican]

2. "unsanctioned protest"?

Surely, that's redundant. If it were sanctioned it wouldn't be a protest; it would be a parade.

It's a smart move on their part not to take on Kasparov.