Russian opponent Vladimir Kara-Murza, a fierce Kremlin critic, was remanded on Friday until June as part of an investigation into “false information” regarding the activities of the army in Ukraine, according to his lawyer .
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A Moscow court “detained Vladimir Kara-Murza until June 12,” lawyer Vadim Prokhorov said in a statement posted on Facebook.
The court confirmed this measure in a statement published by Russian news agencies.
In the morning, Vadim Prokhorov announced that Mr. Kara-Mourza was being questioned by the powerful Russian Investigative Committee as part of an investigation for disseminating “false information” regarding the army.
The dissemination of “false information regarding the use of the Russian armed forces” is punishable in Russia by 15 years in prison, under a new article of the Criminal Code adopted in early March by the Russian authorities.
The authorities have strengthened their legal arsenal to control communication on the military operation in Ukraine. Other similar investigations have been opened once morest critics of the conflict.
Using the words “war” or “invasion” to describe the intervention in Ukraine is enough to get you sued.
Mr. Kara-Mourza, 40, has repeatedly criticized the military intervention in recent weeks, especially on social networks.
Even before his placement in pre-trial detention, he was behind bars following being sentenced on April 12 to 15 days in prison for “disobedience to the police”.
This former journalist was close to the opponent Boris Nemtsov, assassinated not far from the Kremlin in 2015. He also worked for the organizations of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former Russian oligarch who became a critic of Vladimir Putin.
Mr. Kara-Murza, who is one of the last major opponents living in Russia, claims to have been poisoned twice, in 2015 and 2017, because of his political activities.
In addition to his legal troubles, Mr. Kara-Mourza was placed on the list of “foreign agents” on Friday, an infamous designation reminiscent of that of “enemy of the people” under the Soviet Union.
The status of “foreign agent” obliges the persons and organizations concerned to present themselves as such in all their publications and to comply with tedious administrative procedures, under penalty of sanctions in the event of non-compliance.
In addition to Mr. Kara-Mourza, several personalities, including Alexei Venediktov, former editor-in-chief of the famous independent radio station Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow), and a lieutenant of the imprisoned opponent Alexei Navalny, Leonid Volkov, were placed on Friday on this list published on the website of the Ministry of Justice.
MM. Kara-Murza and Volkov are presented on this list as “agents” carrying out “political activities” in the service of Ukraine.
The repression of the Russian government, already strong before the intervention in Ukraine, has hardened considerably following it, with in particular the closure of most independent media and NGOs, as well as the blocking of several social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
