Activist Ruslan Gabbasov from Russia's Republic of Bashkortostan, who fled Russia in December fearing for his safety, has obtained political asylum in Lithuania.
Gabbasov wrote on Facebook on April 22 that the asylum was handed to him after just 4 1/2 months, while usually it takes up to one year to get political asylum in the Baltic state.
Gabbasov told RFE/RL earlier that he left Russia after Russian authorities imposed pressure on him, trying to connect him with criminal cases in Bashkortostan.
According to Gabbasov, the authorities have been trying to incriminate him for his participation in the activities of the banned Bashqort group, which for years promoted the Bashkir language and culture as well as equal rights for ethnic Bashkirs.
Before the organization was recognized as extremist and banned, Gabbasov was in the leadership of the civil body.
He also said that his decision to leave Russia was influenced by two events in November, namely the arrest of Lilia Chanysheva, the former head of jailed Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's headquarters in Bashkortostan, and the conviction of activist Ramila Saitova, who was sentenced to three years in a colony settlement after a court in Bashkortostan found her guilty of calling for extremist activities.