Mikhail Alfyorov, an opposition blogger in the Siberian city of Kemerovo, has been charged with inciting hatred and discord over his video about the arrest of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny in Moscow on his arrival from Germany in January.
On July 11, Alfyorov's mother, Lyudmila Alfyorova, told the OVD-Info group that monitors arrests and trials of rights defenders and opposition activists that her son was detained on July 5 and spent four days in pretrial detention.
On July 9, a court in Kemerovo transferred the blogger to house arrest until September 1.
Alfyorov, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, was fined twice last year for using anti-Putin slogans and insulting police.
His video about Navalny's arrest was placed online on January 19, two days after Navalny was apprehended at a Moscow airport on his return to Russia from Germany, where he received life-saving treatment for a poisoning attack in Siberia in August.
Navalny blames the poisoning with a Soviet-style chemical nerve agent on Putin and Russia's security services. The Kremlin has denied any role in the poisoning.
In February, a Moscow court ruled that, while in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of parole from an old embezzlement case that is widely considered to be politically motivated. He is currently serving a 2 1/2 year sentence at a prison in the Vladimir region.
Navalny's incarceration sparked numerous protests across Russia which were violently dispersed by police.
Siberian Blogger Charged With Inciting Hatred Over Pro-Navalny Video
Editors' Picks
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
Listen
Top Trending Russia
1