ST. PETERSBURG. Feb 1 (Interfax) - A participant in the unsanctioned opposition rally, who forced a police officer to demonstrate his service-issued weapon on Sennaya Square of St. Petersburg on Sunday, has been identified, the police department for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region told Interfax on Monday
According to the police, a 32-year-old native of Arkhangelsk from a group of aggressive protesters attacked policemen during the January 31 demonstration. One of the officers had to demonstrate his weapon in order to calm down the protesters. The police department believes that the officer acted consistent with the situation.
The St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on counts of "violence against a law enforcement officer."
The man from Arkhangelsk was detained near his house on Kosmonavtov Avenue and was taken to a detention facility, the department said.
The agency press service released a video, where the detainee admitted he had pushed the officer, expressed his regret, and apologized to the officer.
The detainee's accomplices will be identified and held criminally liable.
This is the second criminal case opened in St. Petersburg on counts of attacks on law enforcement officers during the unsanctioned rally of January 31. In the first case, a man hit a Russian National Guard officer with his fist several times on Pionerskaya Square. The man was detained as a suspect; his arrest and charges are being considered.
Meanwhile, a source told Interfax there were three attacks of protesters on law enforcement officers in St. Petersburg on Sunday. All these incidents are defined as a criminal offense in accordance with the Russian Criminal Code.
Unsanctioned protests in support of opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who was arrested and incarcerated upon his return to Russia, took place in St. Petersburg and other Russian cities, on Sunday. Similar actions took place across Russia on January 23.