Russia Arrests a Gadfly Over Some Simple Advice for Voters

Russian law prohibits campaigning for any candidate without a permit. So Boris Y. Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and frequent government gadfly, tested its limits in <a href="http://www.trading666.com/lv-handbags-lv-A-quality-handbags-f2-3-c3-9.html"><strong>wholesale lv handbags online from china </strong></a> St. Petersburg on Sunday by handing out fliers that did not support any candidate. The fliers said, &ldquo;Vote against everybody.&rdquo; The police were not amused. They arrested him, charged him with illegal agitation, <a href="http://www.trading666.com/others-brand-cigarettes-f2-66.html"><strong>wholesale marlboro red cigarettes from china </strong></a> which is punishable by a fine, and confiscated his fliers. Mr. Nemtsov, whose subversive political stunts have landed him in police custody many times, called the arrest &ldquo;absurd.&rdquo; He said it proved the government had no intention of allowing unfettered political expression ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections this fall and next spring. Furthermore, he said, the Supreme Court has ruled that <a href="http://www.trading666.com/rayban-sunglasses-rayban-AAA-sunglasses-f2-49-c3-66.html"><strong>cheap rayban sunglasses for sale </strong></a> unregistered individuals have a right to publicly express opposition to all candidates. &ldquo;It is my human right to proclaim any idea I want besides violent overthrow of the state,&rdquo; he said in an <a href="http://www.5i5house.com/plus/guestbook.php"><strong>Sineide with Wesley Sneijder Jersey has the potential to leave ...</strong></a> interview after he had been released. &ldquo;They just want to frighten the opposition. That is all. This is not an election, this is a fraud, a Putin-style fraud.&rdquo; He will have an opportunity to make that argument soon, before a judge in Moscow.