Jailed Russian Opposition Leader Appeals To European Rights Court

Boris Nemtsov in a Moscow court on January 3

MOSCOW -- Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov has appealed his New Year's Eve arrest in Moscow with the European Court of Human Rights in France, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

Nemtsov is the co-chairman of the Solidarity movement. A Solidarity media official told RFE/RL on January 10 that Nemtsov decided to file his case with the European court in Strasbourg after Moscow courts refused to accept his appeal "due to seasonal holidays."

Nemtsov, a former deputy Russian prime minister under President Boris Yeltsin, was among 68 people arrested on December 31 at an unsanctioned rally on the opposite side of a Moscow square where an authorized protest was held.

He was sentenced on January 2 to 15 days of administrative imprisonment for failing to follow police orders.

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