MOSCOW -- A court in Moscow has sent Russian opposition activist Sergei Udaltsov to pretrial detention on charge of justifying terrorism.
The Basmanny district court ruled on January 12 that Udaltsov must stay in pretrial detention until at least February 15.
Udaltsov was detained on January 11 after police searched his home.
Udaltsov told reporters after the court hearing that the charge against him stems from his public support of members of a so-called Marxist group in Ufa, the capital of Russia's Republic of Bashkortostan, who were arrested last year on a charge of creation of a terrorist organization.
Udaltsov pleaded not guilty at the hearing, insisting that since the arrested members of the Marxist group have yet to be convicted, they are considered innocent, and therefore the charge against him -- justifying terrorism -- is illegal.
If convicted, Udaltsov faces up to seven years in prison.
The 46-year-old Udaltsov is the leader of the Left Front movement. He was one of the most prominent figures during mass anti-government protests in 2011-2012.
He spent more than four years in prison for organizing mass protests in 2012 against the inauguration of President Vladimir Putin. Udaltsov was released from prison in August 2017.
Despite parole-like restrictions imposed on him after his release, Udaltsov continued to take part in anti-government rallies and has been sentenced to weeks in jail several times.
His wife, Anastasia Udaltsova, is a member of the Russian parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma.
Udaltsov continues to criticize Putin, but has supported Russia's ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Recently he openly supported Igor Girkin (aka Strelkov), once a leader of Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine's east who is now jailed.
Girkin, 52, has been charged with public calls for extremist activities, which he rejects. He was arrested in July after he sharply criticized Putin for his “too kind’ handling of the Ukraine invasion, referring to Putin as a “nonentity” and accusing him of “cowardly mediocrity.”
Udaltsov openly supported Girkin's plan to take part in presidential election in March.