MOSCOW (AP) — A court has found Russia's only independent election monitoring group guilty of violations, casting doubt on the ability of Golos to monitor Sunday's parliamentary election.
The Moscow court on Friday agreed with prosecutors that Golos had illegally published opinion polls and other research. The law forbids the publication of polls within five days of an election.
The respected independent watchdog compiles complaints of election law violations across the country and posts them online. It has recorded more than 4,700 complaints, most involving the Kremlin party United Russia.
Golos deputy director Grigory Melkonyants said the authorities "are concerned that they cannot control us."
The court fined Golos 30,000 rubles (just under $1,000).
