MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/. Russian police and the National Guard have detained 12 foreigners at an unauthorized rally in downtown Moscow on August 3, who were later released, a source in the city law enforcement agencies told TASS.

"On Saturday, 12 foreign citizens were detained in downtown Moscow by police," the source said. The detained persons were taken to police departments and the officers warned them about possible consequences. "Information was handed over to the embassies, all of them have been released without any protocols being written," the source said. No Ukrainian nationals were among them, he added.

According to the Interior Ministry’s department in Moscow, some 600 people were detained for taking part in the unauthorized rally in Moscow on Saturday, which drew nearly 1,500 people.

The Moscow authorities had warned the rally’s participants about their responsibility and that they must not violate the law. The police had warned about the risks of various provocations at the unauthorized rally on August 3 and called on citizens and guests of the capital to avoid participation in it.

Moscow’s prosecutors have launched an investigation into administrative offence against 15 unregistered candidates to the Moscow City Duma (parliament), who organized the unauthorized rallies on July 14 and July 27. They had ignored the warnings.

According to the Investigative Committee, more than 10 citizens had an active part in staging mass riots in Moscow, and six of them have been arrested under the court’s ruling.