(30 Jul 2019) Russian opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov was handed a 30-day jail sentence on Tuesday for participating in an unsanctioned rally.
Gudkov, an independent candidate in the local Moscow parliamentary elections who was blocked from running, participated in the rally on July 14.
"Dmitry is a strong person, he is persistent - you've seen it yourself. Therefore we will of course survive this and it won't stop him," Gudkov's wife Valeria said, speaking to reporters after her husband was transported from court to jail.
The dissent broke into the open earlier this month after election authorities refused to register a number of opposition candidates for the September 8 vote, citing alleged minor violations.
Over the course of July, opposition activists as well as ordinary Muscovites took to the streets to vent their anger over officials' decisions to exclude a dozen independent candidates from the ballot for the election of the Moscow city legislature, which is dominated by the ruling, pro-Kremlin party.
On 27 July, an estimated 1,400 people were taken into custody, including almost all other independent candidates.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not commented on the massive protests.
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