Ella Pamfilova (file photo) (official site)
April 23, 2007 -- A prominent human rights adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for the resignation of Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev over the police's heavy-handed response to recent opposition protests.
In an interview in the "Kommersant" daily, Ella Pamfilova says police illegally beat up and detained protesters during the so-called March of Dissent rallies in Moscow and St. Petersburg on April 14 and 15.
The State Duma is due on April 24 to form a commission to investigate police abuse during the rallies.
March organizers said today that they intend to hold a new rally in the center of Nizhny Novgorod on April 28, despite an official ban.
(Interfax, "Kommersant")
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