Garry Kasparov arrested outside Pussy Riot trial
Russian riot policemen detain former world chess champion and Russian opposition leader Garry Kasparov on Aug. 17, 2012, outside a court building in Moscow, where three members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot were found guilty of hooliganism.
Former chess champion and opposition figure Garry Kasparov was among several people arrested Friday outside a Moscow court where members of the punk band Pussy Riot were found guilty of hooliganism.
Video shows Kasparov being drasgged to a nearby police van while he demands to know why he's being taken into custody, BBC News reported.
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The editors of Kasparov's Facebook page wrote that "He was not there to protest, simply to attend, and the police cornered him and dragged him into the police van."
They then posted a photo of Kasparov in the police van and later updated: "He is at the police station. He was beaten but says he is okay. He isn't sure what will happen next. It seems the police are waiting for orders from above."
Interfax later reported that Kasparov bit a police officer.
Kasparov retired from chess in 2005 to become more involved in writing and politics, especially opposing Vladimir Putin. He formed the United Civil Front movement and joined several other anti-Putin groups, according to The Quietus.