Prominent Moscow Opposition Activist Detained by Police in Riot Gear

Russian opposition leader Lyubov Sobol was detained in Moscow on August 3 ahead of planned protests. On Twitter on August 2 she called for people to take to the streets. “Election commissions do not work, the courts do not work, only the street works,” she wrote (translated from Russian), “See you tomorrow at 2 o’clock in the center of our beautiful city!” Sobol has been on hunger strike for weeks, the BBC reported, in protest over being blocked from running for office. This video shows police in riot gear approach Sobol after she gets into a taxi. They lift her out of the car and bundle her into a waiting van. Saturday’s planned protests came a week on from street demonstrations during which about 1,000 people were detained. The protesters were calling for opposition candidates to be allowed stand in city council elections. Credit: Current Time via Storyful