A Russian court has started preliminary hearings into a high-profile case against two opposition activists.
The Moscow City Court ruled on February 4 that Sergei Udaltsov, the coordinator of the Left Front movement, will remain under house arrest, while Leonid Razvozzhayev will stay in a detention center until at least June 10.
The court rejected Razvozzhayev's request for a jury trial.
The two are accused of preparing mass riots in Russian regions and organizing an anti-Putin rally on Moscow's Bolotnaya Square in May 2012 that turned violent.
Scores of protesters and police were injured.
Razvozzhayev is also accused of illegally crossing the border.
The two men deny any wrongdoing.
At the hearings, the defendants' lawyers requested that the case be sent back to the prosecutor's office.
The judge adjourned the trial until February 6.
The Moscow City Court ruled on February 4 that Sergei Udaltsov, the coordinator of the Left Front movement, will remain under house arrest, while Leonid Razvozzhayev will stay in a detention center until at least June 10.
The court rejected Razvozzhayev's request for a jury trial.
The two are accused of preparing mass riots in Russian regions and organizing an anti-Putin rally on Moscow's Bolotnaya Square in May 2012 that turned violent.
Scores of protesters and police were injured.
Razvozzhayev is also accused of illegally crossing the border.
The two men deny any wrongdoing.
At the hearings, the defendants' lawyers requested that the case be sent back to the prosecutor's office.
The judge adjourned the trial until February 6.
