1,200 detained over Moscow unrest, parliamentary probe considered

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1,200 detained over Moscow unrest, parliamentary probe considered

(Xinhua) 08:09, October 15, 2013

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MOSCOW, Oct. 14 -- More than 1,200 people have been detained in Moscow after protests over a murder case turned violent, authorities said Monday, adding that the Russian parliament is considering a probe into the unrest.

"During a preventative raid on a vegetable warehouse in the Biryulyovo district, about 1,200 people were taken to police precincts to be checked for involvement in criminal activity," Moscow's police press service told reporters.

Some 1,000 locals took to the streets on Sunday, demanding arrests after the fatal stabbing on Wednesday of Yegor Shcherbakov, a 25-year-old local man, in front of his girlfriend.

The demonstrators were later joined by football fans and politicized nationalists. Traffic was halted for several hours in nearby districts and several bus routes were canceled.

The rioters attributed the murder to a migrant worker after police released a security photograph of the suspect, reportedly of non-Slavic appearance.

Furious young men stormed a vegetable warehouse where migrant workers are often employed, looted an immigrant-owned mall and left burnt-out cars in their wake, before riot police dispersed the crowd.

Authorities also cordoned off Manezhnaya Square near the Kremlin complex as a precautionary measure.

The police, who remained on high alert on Monday, seized a car containing non-lethal arms and a large sum of money during the raid at the warehouse.

"We've got information that the suspect is not a Russian citizen," head of Moscow city police Anatoly Yakunin said in a statement.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin has ordered a thorough investigation of the murder, and said those responsible for the unrest would be held to account.

The Russian Investigation Committee on Monday accused local officials of "inaction," partially provoking the situation, and is to decide whether the incident could be "qualified as massive rioting."

Russian Human Rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin suggested Monday that the parliament probe into the unrest.

"Its main task is to work out proposals on how to solve the complicated national problem and eliminate corruption which is associated with it," Interfax quoted him as saying.

Lukin also proposed a visa regime with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member states as a way to fight illegal immigration.

Meanwhile, people who have been living and working diligently for a long time and were not engaged in corruption or criminal activity should enjoy the usual rights in Russia, he added.

State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin said Monday the Russian legislative body has invited heads of the Interior Ministry, the Federal Migration Service and Moscow authorities to a plenary session on Oct. 22.

"We will make a decision on our analysis of the situation as to whether a parliamentary probe into the unrest is necessary," said Naryshkin.