In the news: Kasparov's arrest and detention in Moscow

AOL/AP: Kasparov Jailed After Anti-Putin Protest

Russian authorities arrested former world chess champion Garry Kasparov on Saturday and sentenced him to five days in prison after he helped lead a protest against President Vladimir Putin that ended in clashes with police. Kasparov, one of President Vladimir Putin's harshest critics, was charged with organizing an unsanctioned procession of at least 1,500 people against Putin, chanting anti-government slogans and resisting arrest, court documents said. His assistant said he was beaten during the demonstration.

At the hastily organized trial, two police testified that they had been ordered before the rally to arrest Kasparov. "What you read is the fruit of a fantasy dictated on orders from above," Kasparov told the court. The opposition activist was forced to the ground and beaten, his assistant Marina Litvinovich said in a telephone interview from outside the police station where Kasparov was held. Full report with slideshow...

• 1350 news stories on Kasparov's arrest and detention in Moscow
• Video interview with Garry Kasparov (recorded in Paris on November 21, 2007)
• The Other Russia web site (official main source of information on the opposition activities)
• Directory of Russian Embassies and Consulates