MOSCOW, August 20 (RAPSI, Diana Gutsul) – Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky District Court has extended until February 29 the house arrest of Ivan Nepomnyashchikh, who stands accused of participation in the Bolotnaya Square riots in 2012 and use of violence against law enforcement officials, attorney Dmitry Dinze told RAPSI on Thursday.

The new defendant in the high-profile Bolotnaya Square riot case was called to account in March. The investigation found that Nepomnyashchikh, a design engineer working in the aerospace industry, was an active participant in the clashes with the police and used his fists and an umbrella. The defendant is currently under house arrest.

The march on Yakimanka Street and the rally on Bolotnaya Square in May 2012, both authorized by the officials, resulted in mass riots and clashes with the police. Dozens of people were injured, over 400 protesters were detained.

The riot organizers, Sergei Udaltsov and Leonid Razvozzhayev, were sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. Other participants received prison terms from suspended sentences to four years. Several defendants were pardoned; one is undergoing compulsory mental treatment.