[JURIST] Russian police Saturday arrested about 200 activists, including former chess great and liberal United Civil Front [party website, in Russian] leader Garry Kasparov [official website, in Russian], for participating in an anti-Putin protest in central Moscow. More than 9,000 police agents were dispatched to prevent the protest there. After the arrests Saturday, law enforcement authorities warned others not to participate or risk detention.

This is not the first time Kasparov has been involved in a Moscow protest against President Vladimir Putin's alleged infringements of rights and constitutional freedoms in the country. He participated in a December protest [JURIST report] where several dozen activists were arrested. The rights activist has accused Putin of instituting a police state and creating a puppet judiciary [JURIST report] to persecute opposition leaders. BBC News has more. RIA Novosti has local coverage.