[Source: BBC]
Russian police have broken up an opposition conference and detained 200 people including high-profile opposition figures.
The weekend forum had just begun in a Moscow hotel when police burst in and said they were detaining everyone.
According to police, coronavirus rules were broken and the event was arranged by an “undesirable organisation”.
The incident comes as authorities continue to crack down on opposition activity as elections loom.
Last month Alexei Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic, was jailed. He was accused of breaking the terms of a suspended prison sentence while recovering in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blames on the Kremlin.
Opposition figures from across Russia were taking part in the Moscow conference to discuss strategy ahead of local and parliamentary elections in September.
