(Moscow, October 1, 1997) -- Today at noon ARA militants hold a symbolic action in the Red square to defend the right to information. Twenty people wearing T-shirts with ARA emblem and slogan "Conscription? No, thank you!" lied down on the paving stones and formed with their bodied "59.3" - the number of article of Russian Constitution that guarantees to every citizen the right to conscientious objection and the possibility to replace military service by alternative civilian service. This action was timed to the beginning of the autumn conscription campaign and to the resumption of the "Civil obedience campaign" for the soonest adoption of the Alternative Civilian Service Law. The main objective of this campaign is to get 7.000 conscientious objectors who would officially demand to be sent for the alternative civilian service.

Militia was waiting for the demonstrators at the entrance into the Red square enclosed by turnstiles. The militiamen ordered ARA militants to disperse and declared that "it is prohibited to stand and to gather in the Red Square."

When the demonstrators lied down on the paving stones, the militiamen dragged them to bus beating those who tries to resist (including girls). All the 20 arrested militants were brought to "Kitaj-gorod" militia-station.

Three and a half hours later, thanks to intervention of Duma Deputy Jurij Rybakov, one of founding members of ARA, 17 demonstrators were dismissed. The other 3 demonstrators - ARA Secretary Nikolaj Khramov, member of ARA SECRETARIAT Viktor Doludenko and ARA militants Evgenij Zhuchkin were taken to Intermunicipal Court Khamovnicheskij. However, the judge on duty Svetlana Kurcins refused to initiate legal proceedings on a charge of violating article 166 of Administrative Code (illegal picket).

The trial will take place tomorrow. It will begin at 11 a.m. at Intermunicipal Court Khamovnicheskij, 7 Rostovskij pereulok, 21.

The "delinquents" together with ARA militants will come to the Court wearing ARA T-shirts, the same T-shirts they were wearing when they formed with their bodies those "seditious" numbers in the main square of the country.