Moscow, Jul 16 (AP) Police in Moscow detained over 130 people during a protest against the constitutional reform that allows President Vladimir Putin to remain in power until 2036.

Moscow police said Thursday they detained 139 protesters and charged 62 of them with violating protest regulations. The OVD-Info rights group that monitors arrests and detentions in Russia put the figure at 147.

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Several hundred people gathered in central Moscow on Wednesday to rally and leave signatures on a petition contesting the results of a nationwide vote on a set of constitutional amendments that extend Putin's rule, redistribute executive powers within the government, prioritise Russian law over international law and outlaw same-sex marriage.

The changes elicited a lot of criticism, and so did the week-long vote organised in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, with independent observers and media outlets reporting numerous violations and incidents of suspected rigging.

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The rally was organised by the activists of the “No!” campaign that advocated for voting against the reform. It was not authorised by the city authorities.

Detentions started as protesters marched, blocking the Moscow traffic.

Footage of the rally showed riot police clashing with protesters, pushing some of them on the ground and dragging them to police vans.

Chair of Russia's Journalists Union Vladimir Solovyov told the Interfax news agency that several reporters covering the rally were also detained. He called for their immediate release.

According to media reports, most of those detained were released by Thursday morning.

A similar unauthorised rally was held in St Petersburg on Wednesday without any detentions. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)