Ilya Yashin, a Russian politician and Alexey Navalny’s ally, has been handed charges for “discrediting the Russian army,” as per his Telegram channel.
“Ilya Yashin dislikes the political system in the Russian Federation, denies the obvious need to ensure the security of the Russian Federation from external threats and suppress violations of the fundamental rights of citizens of the DPR and LPR,” reads the accusation. “Yashin understands that he is a popular figure, and therefore the general public perceives his statements as reliable.”
“My lawyer Vadim Prokhorov says the accusation is a dumb, yet a convoluted one,” Tashin says. The accusation will be brought to court in late October.
Yashin’s defence has also applied for involving General Major Igor Konashenkov as witness in the trial. “If you say something that contradicts Konashenkov’s theory, you become a criminal in today’s Russia. This is why we want Konashenkov to appear at the courthouse and tell us where he gets his information from and why it needs to be trusted,” Yashin says.
Yashin was sent into a pre-trial facility on 13 July.
