MOSCOW, December 28 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko) – The Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow has extended the detention of Maxim Panfilov, a defendant in the Bolotnaya Square riot case, until June 14, 2017, RAPSI reported from the courtroom on Wednesday.

A motion for extension of Panfilov’s detention was filed by prosecution. Defense asked the court to release the defendant from a cage during the hearing as it is violation of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Earlier, Panfilov was taken to the detention center’s psychiatric hospital for health reasons.

On April 8, 2016, the Basmanny District Court in Moscow ordered the detention of Panfilov. The day before, he was charged with participation in mass riots and use of violence against a law enforcement officer. According to investigators, the accused snatched a helmet off a riot policeman’s head on May 6, 2012.

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, Sergey 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.

The convicts’ supporters believe that the riots were provoked by police.