MOSCOW, February 22 (RAPSI) – The Tverskoy District Court has sentenced the Moscow region resident Dmitry Borisov to one year in a penal colony for using force against a police officer during an unauthorized rally held in Moscow on March 26, 2017, the court’s press-service has told RAPSI.

Earlier, a prosecutor asked the court to sentence Borisov to three years in prison.

According to the Investigative Committee’s press service, the accused struck the police officer on duty over the head twice during the rally.

Earlier, several other men, Andrey Kosykh, Yury Kuliy, Alexander Shpakov and Stanislav Zimovets, and Aleksey Politikov have been convicted and sentenced for violence against law enforcement officers during the rally.  Kosykh was sentenced to 4 years in prison, but later his term was reduced by 4 months. Kuliy has been given 8 months in a penal colony settlement. Shpakov received a 1.5-year prison sentence. Zimovets has been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. A 2-year prison sentence given to Politikov has not taken effect yet.

The Interior Ministry reported that about 500 people had been arrested during the unauthorized rally on March 26. Overall number of people present in the area at the time was estimated at as high as 8,000 people. One of the police officers received injuries; a criminal case was launched over this incident.

According to the Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, arrested during the rally, Moscow authorities refused to greenlight the rally in the city’s center and proposed alternative areas only a day before it was to take place. Navalny said that in this case Russian legislation allows organizers to hold an event at the area, which was listed first.