Protesters arrested outside Russian security service HQ

Russian police on Sunday arrested seven people protesting outside the Moscow headquarters of the FSB, Russia's security service, an independent monitor reported. Several dozen protesters gathered outside the infamous Lubyanka building for an unauthorised rally against what they say are abuses committed by the security forces, an AFP reporter at the scene said. Some were protesting the detention of 77-year-old rights activist Lev Ponomaryov, who was sentenced to 25 days in jail this month for urging people to take part in an unauthorised rally earlier this year. His sentence was later reduced to 16 days in jail despite calls in Russia and abroad to release him. OVD-Info, which specialises in covering opposition arrests, posted a photo of those detained, inside the police wagon in which they were being held. Another five demonstrators were detained in front of the health ministry building during another unauthorised protest, Moscow Echo radio reported. Most of those detained for such protests are either released after a few hours or receive short prison sentences or fines. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that calls for unauthorised demonstrations could lead to an explosion of violence like that seen in the "yellow vest" protests in Paris. "We don't want events in our country where people are tearing up paving stones and burning everything they see," he said. Some protesters outside the FSB's Lubyanka headquarters wore the high-visibility yellow vests associated with the French protests. video-pop/jj/bmm/as/wdb