Participants of press conference in memory of Markelov and Baburova declare inadmissibility of penetration of nationalists into public organizations

This inadmissibility was emphasized in the course of the press conference "Democracy and Nazism are Incompatible", dedicated to the third anniversary of the murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova. The event was held in Moscow, at the Independent Media Centre.

The organizer of the press conference was the protest anti-fascist movement "Committee of January 19". The speakers included sociologist Alexander Bikbov, the press conference moderator, journalist from Kyrgyzstan Aida Kosymalieva, ecologist Yaroslav Nikitenko, historian Yaroslav Leontiev and Pavel Mitenkov, a supporter of the "Committee of January 19". The press conference was attended by a large number of media people, a journalist and human rights defender Elena Sannikova among them.

The speakers asserted that cooperation of public organizations and political parties with nationalist is unacceptable. In particular, ecologist Yaroslav Nikitenko said that "nationalists are crawling into ecological organizations and provoke split from inside."

At the end of the sitting the participants and journalists marched to the place of the murder of Markelov and Baburova - No. 1 in Prechistenka Street.

According to law enforcement bodies of Moscow, the march was 900 persons strong; and some 1000 people took part in the rally, the ITAR-TASS reported at 7:39 p.m.

The RIA "Novosti" reported with reference to its correspondent at 9:13 p.m. that the rally brought together about 500 people.

No incidents were fixed, and according to law enforcers, the situation in Pushkin Square was calm.

Meanwhile, the press service of the Moscow Chief Department of the Russian MIA reports that the organizers of the memorial rally were invited to the police, because the factual rally was more crowded that initially applied for and sanctioned, the "Gazeta.ru" reports.