Ilya Yashin, an opposition activist, received four infringement notices for ‘discrediting the Russian army, according to his Telegram channel.
All four cases will be considered by the Tushinsky court in Moscow on 25 May.
“It looks like I’m facing a huge fine and potential criminal prosecution. The new law implies that people may face criminal proceedings for repeated offences. Well, I wish to make myself absolutely clear on this one. I’m not going to hide from the police and I won’t reconsider my beliefs. I make my stand against the war because I am a Russian patriot. In my opinion, those who started this illicit butchery are the ones who discredit the Russian army,” he wrote.
Ilya Yashin. Photo: Facebook
Ilya Yashin is a popular opposition politician, Putin’s critic and the former head of Moscow’s Krasnoselsky district. He was banned from the Moscow Parliament election last June for supporting Alexey Navalny. The election committee ruled out that he was ‘an individual involved in extremist activity’ and cannot partake.
Yashin resigned from his position last year due to ‘tremendous pressure upon the district council’.
Russia initiated a criminal procedure against Moscow politicians Yelena Kotyonochkina and Alexey Gorinov. Both were accused of ‘spreading fake news about the Russian army’. Gorinov was sent to a pre-trial detention centre while Kotyonochkina was arrested in absentia and declared wanted.
