Russian court commutes sentence for actor at protest rally

MOSCOW (AP) - A Russian court has commuted the prison sentence for a Moscow actor convicted of assaulting a police officer to a suspended one, in a case that sparked a public outcry.

Moscow City Court ruled Monday that Pavel Ustinov should be punished with a one-year suspended sentence instead of 3 ˆ½ years in prison.

Ustinov, 24 was found guilty earlier this month of assaulting a police officer at an opposition rally in July. He pleaded not guilty, saying he was simply waiting for a friend outside a subway station. Police said he resisted arrest and injured the officer.

Video from the scene showed Ustinov being tackled by police officers as he looked at his phone on the rally's sidelines. A lower court had refused to admit these videos as evidence.