Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov was among those arrested outside a Moscow court on Friday where members of Russian punk group Pussy Riot were found guilty of hooliganism.
A post on Kasparov’s Facebook page indicates the 50-year-old was also beaten by police.
The Facebook update reads: “We just spoke to Garry on the phone. He is at the police station. He was beaten but says he is okay. He isn't sure what will happen next. It seems the police are waiting for orders from above.”
A video posted on the BBC website shows Kasparov, a pro-democracy activist, speaking to journalists outside the punk rockers’ hearing in Moscow when police grab him and drag him to a nearby police van.
The video shows Kasparov saying, “He uses law, or what is left of Russian law to protect his own stay in power,” moments before his arrest.
Kasparov became the youngest-ever undisputed World Chess Champion in 1985 at the age of 22. He retired in 2005 to devote his time to politics and writing.
The Russian chess grandmaster was a leader amongst the opposition activists after Vladimir Putin was elected president in March, after serving as president from 2000 to 2008 and then moving into the prime minister’s office to avoid a constitutional ban on more than two consecutive terms.
During an anti-Putin protest Kasparov was quoted as saying, "This was not an election. This was a special operation run by a thug who wanted to return to the Kremlin."
Meanwhile, protests continue around the globe after three members of the all-girl Russian punk band were each sentenced to two years in prison for staging a guerrilla performance of a song that criticized Putin.
The members of Pussy Riot have already been in jail for six months.
Immediately after the decision was issued, Twitter came alive with supporters of the band slamming the ruling and calling on like-minded sympathizers to join demonstrations.
