10 detained for holding unauthorized rally on anniversary of invasion

Police in Moscow said they detained 10 people Sunday who tried to hold an unauthorized demonstration in Red Square in commemoration of a 1968 protest. In August 1968, Soviet troops entered Czechoslovakia to quell the Prague Spring, and 72 people were killed. In response, seven Soviet dissidents rallied in the Red Square on Aug. 25, 1968, to protest the invasion. The protesters were brutally rounded up and later sentenced to jail, exile or forced psychiatric treatment. Sunday, protesters held a demonstration in commemoration of 1968 incident. Minutes into the event, police detained them for having an unauthorized rally, RIA Novosti said. The suspects allegedly tried to unroll a banner with the words 'For Our Freedom' written on it and were taken into custody, ITAR-Tass reported Sunday. "The police detained 10 persons for an attempt to hold a street action," the Moscow City Interior Department said in a report. "They were eventually taken to a local police department." Police did not say what punishment the 10 protesters will face, RIA Novosti reported.