MOSCOW, December 13 (RAPSI) – The Moscow District Simonvsky Court has ruled to recover from opposition activists Lyubov Sobol and Georgy Alburov for their role in the rally of August 3 over 1,5 million rubles (about $24,000) in favor of state-finance entity Avtomobilnye Dorogi, RAPSI reports from the courtroom on Friday.

Initially, the entity demanded from the opposition politicians more than 3 million rubles ($48,000) as compensation for the damages allegedly suffered by Avtomobilnye Dorogi as it had to restore green areas crashed by the participants of the unauthorized rally on that day and its expenses relating to public safety measures; nevertheless, the court lowered this amount by half.

Earlier in the day, the same court ruled that Sobol and Alburov are to 657,000 rubles (about $10,500) in favor of the capital’s public transport authority Mosgortrans, which claimed the opposition activists were responsible for traffic jams caused by the participants of the unauthorized rally on August 3.

Protest actions began in Moscow in mid-July after election commissions denied registration of certain opposition members as candidates for the Moscow City Duma elections reasoning that documents submitted by them contained numerous violations.

The first unauthorized rally took place hear the Moscow City Election Commission’s building on July 14 and looked like a provocation, according to law experts.

Unauthorized rallies in support of candidates seeking to become lawmakers of the Moscow State Duma but refused registration by the Election Commission were also held on July 27 and August 3 in central Moscow. Over 1,000 people were arrested for various violations as a result.