U2 Russian gig marked by human rights arrests

[pampango]

Source: BBC

Irish band U2's first Russia concert was marred after police arrested activists from rights group Amnesty International before the gig began. The head of the human rights group's Moscow office, Sergei Nikitin, said U2 management had assured them all the necessary permits were in place.

News Agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) also reported that police forced volunteers from U2's own charity fund, the ONE Campaign against AIDS, out of Moscow's Luzhniki stadium. Tents set up by Greenpeace Russia were also moved on according to the organisation's director Ivan Blokov. "We were not allowed to collect signatures and to talk to people," he said.

Mr Nikitin added that Amnesty had been present at many of the band's concerts throughout their European tour. "I don't know if Bono knows about what happened to us," he said. "It was a typical publicity event, which this organisation has carried out in every city where U2 has performed."

During the gig, Bono invited Russian rock star turned anti-Kremlin activist Yuri Shevchuk onstage for a rendition of Knockin' on Heaven's Door. The Irish singer called his Russian counterpart a "great man". On Sunday, Mr Shevchuk appeared at a banned concert in central Moscow protesting against plans to build a motorway through a forest.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11095761

[Enrique]

1. this will come to be known as the "U2 Incident" n/t