A court in Moscow left politician Ilya Yashin in pre-trial detention until November 26

The Basmanny District Court of Moscow left Ilya Yashin in pre-trial detention until November 26. This was reported by SOTA with reference to a correspondent in the courtroom.

The politician is accused of spreading “fakes” about the Russian army based on political hatred (clause “e”, part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). The reason for the criminal case was one of Yashin’s streams on his YouTube channel, in which he spoke about the tragedy in Bucha.

The arrest was extended due to the fact that the man allegedly has “connections abroad, real estate in Bulgaria and a desire to commit new crimes,” writes SOTA. The defense offered to pay five million rubles as bail for Yashin.

A case was opened against the oppositionist in July, but Ilya Yashin was detained on June 27, while walking in the park. The next day he was arrested for 15 days under the article on disobedience to the police (Article 19.3 of the Administrative Code). While the man was in the special detention center, a case was opened against him.

On July 13, the politician was sent to a pre-trial detention center. Later, the preventive measure was extended until November 12. On October 7, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow recognized the decision to initiate a criminal case as legal.

On October 5, Yashin was finally charged under the article on “fakes.” And on October 19, the Investigative Committee announced the completion of the investigation into the case. The politician's accounts were seized on the same day.

• Ilya Yashin is a former municipal deputy of the Krasnoselsky district of Moscow. He served as head of the municipality from 2017 to 2021. The oppositionist left his post early in order, as he himself explained, to “get the council of deputies out of harm’s way,” which was under pressure. On July 22, the Ministry of Justice added the politician to the register of “foreign agents.”
• Since February 24—the first day of the “special operation” in Ukraine—residents of Russian cities have been going out to anti-war rallies every day and talking about the tragedy online. Anti-war speeches and statements become grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 310 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our guide .
• Article 207.3 (Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation) was included in the Criminal Code in March 2022 - in this way the authorities responded to anti-war speeches and statements, as well as the dissemination of information about the war that does not come from official Russian sources. The maximum penalty under this article is 15 years in prison.