A Russian opposition activist was sentenced on Monday to one and half years in a penal colony for attacking a police officer during an unsanctioned rally in central Moscow last year.
Grigory Torbeyev, member of the Left Front opposition movement, hit the officer in the face with a burning flare as police dispersed the Day of Wrath rally on Moscow’s downtown Tverksaya Square in November 2010.
Torbeyev was detained at the scene and a criminal case was launched against him. The officer, Yevgeny Kovalev, was taken to hospital and treated for eye injuries and concussion.
After spending six months in a pretrial detention center, Torbeyev will now have to spend another year in the penal colony. Prosecutors initially demanded him to be sentenced to two years in the colony.
Torbeyev supporters who were present in the courtroom protested angrily against the Tverskoy Court’s verdict. His defense is preparing to file an appeal.