The leader of the independent organization Golos, which monitors Russian elections, Grigoryj Melkonjants, will be held in prison for at least a month. This was decided by a court in Moscow on Friday.
Melkonjants proclaimed his innocence before the judge. He has been imprisoned for almost a year awaiting trial. If found guilty, he risks six years in prison.
The 43-year-old Melkonjants was arrested in August last year on charges of working with an "undesirable organization". At the same time, searches were conducted at the homes of several of the organization's employees.
Golos was founded in the early 2000s and has reported on electoral fraud in Russian presidential and parliamentary elections.
