In Nizhny Novgorod, the rector of the Temple of the Flying Spaghetti Monster had his arrest extended in a pre-trial detention center

In Nizhny Novgorod, the arrest of Mikhail Iosilevich, rector of the Temple of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, was extended for 30 days. The decision was made by the Moscow District Court, journalist Natalya Rezontova reports .

Iosilevich is accused in the case of an “undesirable organization” (Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code). Initially, the activist was given a preventive measure in the form of a written undertaking not to leave the place, which, according to him, he did not violate.

In January 2021, at the request of the investigation, Iosilevichwas sent to a pre-trial detention center. The prosecution believes that the accused put pressure on witness Yaroslav Grach - the man stated that someone called his relatives in the voice of Iosilevich.

• In the fall of 2020, as part of the case against Iosilevich, security forces conducted searches of Nizhny Novgorod activists: Dmitry Silivonchik, Alexey Sadomovsky, Yuri Shaposhnikov, Roman Tregubov and the editor-in-chief of Koza.press Irina Slavina. Slavina committed self-immolation the next day.
• The case itself arose as a result of an error. According to the case materials, one of the grounds for bringing Iosilevich to criminal liability was the interview of the executive director of Open Russia, Andrei Pivovarov, to the online publication Znak.Com. Pivovarov in an interview says that the independent project “United Democrats” is participating in the election campaign in the Novgorod region, but the Nizhny Novgorod region made the headlines instead of the Novgorod region.
• In April 2017, the Prosecutor General's Office recognized as undesirable several organizations associated with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, registered in the UK and the USA. The Russian Open Russia movement was not banned. Despite this, administrative cases are regularly opened against its activists for participation in the activities of an undesirable organization. On March 30, 2019, Open Russia announced its self-liquidation for security reasons.
• This is the first case known to OVD-Info of placing a defendant in custody in a case involving the activities of an undesirable organization. Until now, only the very first accused in such a case, former member of Open Russia in the Rostov region Anastasia Shevchenko, was seriously restricted in her movements - she was under house arrest for more than two years. In February shewas sentenced to four years of suspended imprisonment.