Russia's Basmanny District Court of Moscow on July 13 ordered the arrest [7] of opposition politician Ilya Yashin over allegations that he willfully spread "false information" about the Russian military—a charge Yashin denies and human rights organizations call [8] politically motivated. Yashin faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted and will be kept in detention for two months while he awaits trial. A lawyer for Yashin told [15] state news agency TASS that the charge stems from an April 7 Youtube stream [9] in which Yashin discussed Russian forces killing civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha [10], a claim that Russia denies [16].
The court charged Yashin with violating Article 207.3 [11] of Russia's Criminal Code, which makes disseminating "false information" about the military a crime. The law was instated on March 4, eight days after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. Yashin was fined 90,000 rubles after being convicted on a separate charge of violating Article 207.3 in May.
This latest arrest comes just after Yashin finished a 15-day jail sentence [17] for disobeying and insulting police.
Yashin works as an elected district councilor in Moscow. He was banned [18] from running for Moscow's City Duma last year over his support for opposition figure Alexei Navalny [19].
Yashin reportedly [12] shouted as he was arrested: "Do not be afraid of these scoundrels! Russia will be free!"
From Jurist [20], July 13. Used with permission.
See our last posts on the crackdown on dissent [21] in Russia, the Bucha massacre [22], and war crimes [23] in Ukraine.
