MOSCOW -- Russian activists picketed the presidential office building in Moscow to protest a court decision to deport a Russian-born journalist to Uzbekistan.
The protesters on August 3 staged so-called single pickets in order to comply with a Russian law against mass demonstrations that aren't authorized by authorities.
One of the protesters, LGBT activist Yevgeny Pavlovsky, was detained by police.
ALSO READ: 'People Go There And Disappear': Support Mounts For Journalist In Russia Facing Deportation To Uzbekistan
Meanwhile, Russia's presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights said on August 3 that the ordered deportation of Novaya Gazeta correspondent Ali Feruz to Uzbekistan contradicts Russia's constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.
The council said Feruz -- whose real name is Hudoberdi Nurmatov -- was born in Russia and members of his family are Russian citizens and therefore the council "will do everything to reach a favorable solution of the issue."
An August 1 Moscow court order to deport Feruz for violating migration rules has sparked protests in Russia and abroad.
Feruz, who has been waiting in Russia since 2014 to receive refugee status, insists he might face incarceration and torture if he is deported to Uzbekistan.
Feruz has said that he had to flee Uzbekistan in 2008 after he refused to cooperate with Uzbek security services and was tortured in Uzbek custody for two days.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on August 3 that the presidential administration was aware of Feruz's case.
Peskov said the case is very complicated and that Russian authorities "cannot close their eyes to some of the violations of the law by Nurmatov."
The Union of Journalists of Russia and Amnesty International have urged Russian authorities to overturn the deportation order.
