A Russian court on Wednesday sentenced opposition figurehead Sergei Udaltsov to 240 hours of community service for assaulting a pro-Kremlin youth activist.
“The journalists [in the courtroom] shouted ‘Shame!’,” Udaltsov’s lawyer, Violetta Volkova, wrote on her Twitter account.
Left Front movement leader, Udaltsov was detained after a Communist protest rally against the creation of a NATO transit hub in the Volga city of Ulyanovsk in April.
Anna Pozdnyakova, an activist of the pro-Kremlin group the Youth Guard, later accused him of assaulting her during the demonstration.
Udalstov has denied the charges against him
The judge has refused to examine footage, where Pozdnyakova is seen enthusiastically showing a mobile phone video of the attack to a man, without visible physical damage.
Udaltsov, who spent 15 days in jail on protest-related charges, has been a key figure in mass protests against the rule of President Vladimir Putin.