Watchdog

Russian authorities have moved from jail to house arrest one of two teenagers detained on charges of "involvement in a terrorist community” in a case set up by an undercover law enforcement officer, Russian news agencies report.

A Moscow court on August 16 ruled that Anna Pavlikova, who has been held since March, be placed under house arrest after a request by investigators and comments from her lawyer and family that her health had deteriorated.

Pavlikova, 18, and the other detainee, Maria Dubovik, 19, are members of the so-called New Greatness movement.

The Moscow court was scheduled later on August 16 to hear a request to have Dubovik also moved to house arrest.

Pavlikova has been suffering from panic attacks and a loss of hearing, while Dubovik is suffering from a tumor, problems with her digestive system, and a thyroid condition, their families and legal teams say.

Moscow residents protesting their detention used Facebook to organize what they called a Mothers' March on August 15, an event that drew hundreds of people in the pouring rain, with many participants carrying stuffed animals to emphasize the young age of the detainees.

Dubovik and Pavlikova were arrested in March along with eight other members of New Greatness. Six are being held in pretrial detention while four are under house arrest.

Those charged say they had turned their online chat criticizing the government into a political movement after the move was proposed by one of their members.

Later, it was revealed that the man who proposed the idea, wrote the movement's charter, and rented premises for the movement's gatherings was a special agent of the Federal Security Service (FSB).

With reporting by Novaya Gazeta, AFP, and Interfax

A 30-year-old Tajik man has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of insulting the country’s president and calling for the overthrow of the government on social media posts, family and a court official say.

Umar Murodov shared the posts on Russian social network Odnoklassniki over the past two years while working as a migrant laborer in Russia, said a court official in Tajikistan’s southern Khatlon Province, where Murodov was sentenced.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity, saying he wasn't authorized to speak to the media.

Murodov was arrested on June 12 upon his return to his native town of Kulob.

Murodov’s father, Davlat Murodov, told RFE/RL on August 16 that his son was wanted by Tajik authorities over the allegations.

"Authorities had promised us that if he returned voluntarily, he will be pardoned. I sold our cow and bought him tickets. My son came, but they arrested him," the father said.

The family say they don’t agree with the court ruling but will not appeal it, and instead will write a letter to President Emomali Rahmon asking for a pardon.

Court documents obtained by RFE/RL’s Tajik Service show that Murodov admitted to reposting and liking several videos.

However, Umarov insisted he "didn't have an intention of overthrowing the government and insulting or slandering the president."

In April, another migrant worker from Khatlon, Alijon Sharipov, was sentenced to nine and a half years for watching, liking, and sharing videos of the banned Islamic Renaissance Party's gatherings abroad.

Sharipov was found guilty of "calling for extremism, calling for the overthrow of the government, and working for banned political parties."

Sharipov admitted sharing the videos, but said he didn’t know it was against the law.