A Moscow court on Monday overturned a prison sentence for actor Pavel Ustinov, giving him instead a one-year suspended sentence, in a case that has sparked protests and a major solidarity campaign.
Ustinov, 23, was this month sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for violence against police at an opposition protest, despite his insistence he was simply a bystander.
A judge at the Moscow City Court said on Monday the ruling by Moscow's Tverskoi district court should be changed, an AFP correspondent said.
Around 25,000 people took part in an authorised opposition rally in Moscow on Sunday in support of those detained at earlier anti-government protests, according to an independent monitor.
Ustinov's supporters were outraged by his conviction, saying he is innocent.
He and his defence lawyers said they were still not happy with the latest ruling and would appeal again.
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"I did not commit any crime," Ustinov told reporters.
He insisted that members of the national guard acted unlawfully by accusing him of committing a crime.
Ustinov was found guilty after one of the officers accused him of causing a sprained shoulder.
High-profile lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, who has represented fugitive US whistleblower Edward Snowden and has taken up Ustinov's case, said the court's previous ruling "was not based on a single piece of evidence."