MOSCOW, August 19 (RAPSI) - Jailed opposition activist Sergei Udaltsov sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for organizing mass riots in central Moscow in May 2012 has put an end to his hunger strike, RIA Novosti reported Tuesday citing Federal Penitentiary Service spokesperson Sergey Tsygankov.
Udaltsov went on hunger strike on July 25. He has lost about 10 kilograms (about 22 pounds), the agency quotes his attorney Violetta Volkova as having said.
Over 400 people were arrested and scores injured in the Bolotnaya Square protest that turned violent in May 2012. Dozens were later charged with inciting mass riots and using violence against law enforcement officers.
Udaltsov was charged with organizing riots and using violence against police. In February 2013, he was placed under house arrest, as he violated the order not to leave the town handed down in October. On July 24, he was convicted and placed in detention.
The case against Udaltsov and Leonid Razvozzhayev along with other opposition figures was initiated after the "Anatomy of Protest 2" film was shown on the NTV broadcasting network. The film claimed that the opposition was organizing a coup using funds from abroad. It showed Udaltsov and his companions allegedly talking with Georgian politician Givi Targamadze, who at the time headed Georgia's Parliamentary Defense and Security Committee, and is said to have been involved in planning revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine, as well as mass riots in Belarus.