quote:
Russia clamps down on dissent ahead of G8 · Protester claims 200 held as Bush and Putin meet
· Demonstrations expected today in St Petersburg
Nick Paton Walsh in St Petersburg
Saturday July 15, 2006
The Guardian
Dozens of activists have been arrested on their way to protest at the G8 summit in St Petersburg this weekend, as Russia seeks to clamp down on dissent ahead of the meeting.
A spokesman for Network against the G8 - a group organising demonstrations expected today amid tight security in the city centre - who gave his name as Maxim, said 86 people had been taken off trains on their way to St Petersburg in the past few days. He added that a further eight people had been sentenced to short term custodial sentences, and that a further 30 had been fingerprinted and then released.