MOSCOW, January 23 - RAPSI. The Moscow City Court on Wednesday upheld 4.5 year prison sentence handed down to Maxim Luzyanin for taking part in the May 6 riots on Moscow's Bolotnaya Square, a court source told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com).

The court ruled against his attorneys' motion for a suspended sentence.

The Luzyanin case has been considered under plea bargain agreement at Luzyanin's request.

Earlier, the defendant pled guilty and asked that the case be considered under the plea bargain procedure. Thus, his sentence can not exceed two-thirds of the maximum term stipulated by the Criminal Code.

His lawyers filed a motion to reduce his sentence citing his voluntary plea of guilt and compensation for damages. They also claimed Luzyanin committed the crime under the influence of the crowd and that he is not normally prone to violence.

Luzyanin refused to appear in court in person.

The prosecutor as well as a representative of the OMON police officers injured by Luzyanin objected to reducing his sentence.

Luzyanin has been accused of both taking part in mass riots and using violence against a police officer. Investigators maintain that Luzyanin took part in the riots during the March of Millions, which were accompanied by violence, arson and property damage.

The officially sanctioned opposition march led to clashes with police on May 6. Dozens of protesters and police officers were injured. After May 6, the opposition continued its protests in the form of "people's promenades," wherein crowds of opposition activists walked peacefully together through the city in a show of opposition.

In June, investigators searched the homes of the rally organizers and participants, including those of Alexei Navalny, Sergei Udaltsov, Ilya Yashin, and Boris Nemtsov.