Russian authorities robbed the houses of political leaders and reporters in 7 regions over ties to a pro-Ukraine previous lawmaker accused of spreading out fake news about Russias invasion of Ukraine, media reported Thursday.
This is at least the thirdwave of mass searches linked to Ponomaryov since the singing Ukraine war critic was jailed in absentia in late August on charges of spreading out incorrect info about the Russian army.
Ponomaryov, who has actually been residing in exile in Kyiv since 2016, rejected any links to much of the targets of Thursdays searches.
Ive heard something about the people who were checked out today, however absolutely nothing about the majority of the others, he told independent media outlet Sota.In Moscow, police raided the homes of 2 former city legislative assembly members and a Moscow State University (MSU) teacher who stood as a candidate for the Communist Party in the 2021 parliamentary elections.Footage that emerged on messaging app Telegram showed Lobanov hitting the deck on the flooring of his house with a torn t-shirt.
A post on Lobanovs channel on Telegram said later in the day that he was charged with disobeying cops orders and sentenced to 15 days in jail.Police likewise browsed the homes of journalists from 2 local news websites in the Siberian city of Tyumen, according to the independent outlet Mediazona.State news companies TASS and RIA Novosti reported that the raids targeted those who supposedly participated in a conference of Russian opposition members arranged by Ponomaryov, in addition to those linked to his social networks pages.
Ponomaryov, 47, faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of spreading out fake news about the Russian army-- among a plan of wartime censorship laws passed after the Kremlin sent out troops into Ukraine.The exiled previous lawmaker-- a bitter critic of President Vladimir Putin and an advocate of Kyiv-- was the only member of the Russian parliament to vote against the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.