MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Moscow rally to demand the release of protesters had drawn 9,000 people on Sunday as of 1200 GMT and more people were arriving, a Russian protest monitor, White Counter, said on Twitter.

It said police were not blocking the entrance to the venue.

The rally, called to demand the release of protesters jailed this summer, has been authorized by the Moscow mayor’s office, meaning mass detentions by police are less likely to happen.