Defendant Pavel Ustinov, accused of using violence against an officer of Russia's National Guard during an unauthorized rally to demand free elections, listens to a lawyer during a court hearing in Moscow, Russia September 16, 2019. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Many Russian celebrities took to social media on Tuesday to condemn what they said was the brazenly unjust jailing of a novice actor over an opposition protest and demanded that the authorities release him from prison.
Pavel Ustinov, 23, was sentenced on Monday to three and a half years in jail for dislocating a police officer's shoulder when he was arrested during an Aug. 3 rally in Moscow. He denied the charges and said he had not even taken part in the protest.
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