FILE - Russian opposition activist Ilya Yashin is escorted to a court before a hearing in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin was spotted at search at his apartment in Moscow on Tuesday evening, July 12, 2022. According to Yashin's lawyer, the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against him of spreading deliberately false information about the Russian Army. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, file)
Republished July 12, 2022 - 12:39 PM
Original Publication Date July 12, 2022 - 12:06 PM
Russian prosecutors on Tuesday brought criminal charges against another opposition figure who has criticized Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, his lawyer said.
Ilya Yashin was due to be released after spending 15 days in jail on charges of failing to obey police. Instead, Yashin was charged under a new law making it a crime to spread false information about the military, said his lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov. It carries a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
Prosecutors searched Yashin's Moscow apartment on Tuesday evening, and video taken at the scene shows that Yashin was present during the search.
Russia has cracked down on those who criticize what it calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine. Vladimir Kara-Muza, a well-known opposition figure, was arrested in April and charged under the same law.
Yashin, a member of a Moscow municipal council, was detained in late June in a city park, and police said he grabbed one officer by the uniform and insulted them. Yashin said the police approached him while he was sitting on a bench with a friend and demanded he go with them without explanation.
News from © The Associated Press, 2022