Russian opposition figure detained ahead of Moscow protest

A leading opposition figure has been detained by Moscow police as she was heading to an unauthorised protest against the exclusion of independent and opposition candidates from the city council elections.

Lyubov Sobol, who is one of the election hopefuls rejected from the ballot, was detained on Saturday in central Moscow and taken away in a police van.

The attempted rally comes a week after police detained nearly 1,400 protesters, beating some of them with truncheons.

Despite repeated warnings that police would take active measures against a protest on Saturday, activists aim to hold a march for about 2.5 miles along the Boulevard Ring that circles central Moscow.