Brussels, 26/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 26 November, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, said that he was “greatly concerned” at this weekend's repression of opposition demonstrations against President Vladimir Putin in Russia. “The right to free expression and the right of assembly are fundamental human rights and I strongly regret that the Russian authorities felt the need to resort to such brutal actions”, said Mr Barroso. The Commission president “hopes that the demonstrators will be freed as soon as possible”. “In a democracy, all citizens must be allowed to express their opinions peacefully in full respect of the law”, he stressed. The leader of the EPP-ED group of the European Parliament, Joseph Daul, has also condemned the imprisonment of former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, the leader of the opposition movement, “The Other Russia”. “By depriving the opposition of the fundamental freedom to demonstrate, the Russian authorities are losing credibility in the international arena”, said Mr Daul. (H.B.)