Russian activist Dmitry Zvonaryov has fled Russia, fearing for his safety amid a crackdown by the state on anyone challenging Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Zvonaryov told RFE/RL on May 11 that he was currently in Florida and had applied for political asylum. He said he spent two weeks in U.S. immigration centers after he reached the United States via Mexico.
"I did not feel I was safe in my country. I could be at least sentenced to 15 years in prison for my protests against the war [in Ukraine]. They could even kill me! They constantly threatened me, followed me, and even questioned my 14-year-old son, demanding he tell them about my whereabouts," Zvonaryov said.
Before fleeing his home in the city of Kirov, some 900 kilometers northeast of Moscow, Zvonaryov stayed with a friend to escape possible arrest.
Zvonaryov has taken part in unsanctioned rallies protesting the arrest of jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny.
After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, he was arrested several times and held briefly for single-person pickets protesting the war.
Many activists, journalists, and others have left Russia for other countries since Moscow launched the unprovoked attack on Ukraine on February 24.
On March 5, President Vladimir Putin signed a law that calls for lengthy prison terms for distributing "deliberately false information" about Russian military operations as the Kremlin seeks to control the narrative about its war in Ukraine.
The law envisages sentences of up to 10 years in prison for offenders, while the penalty for the distribution of "deliberately false information" about the Russian military that leads to "serious consequences" is 15 years in prison.
It also makes it illegal "to make calls against the use of Russian troops to protect the interests of Russia" or "for discrediting such use" with a possible penalty of up to three years in prison. The same provision applies to calls for sanctions against Russia.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has said that in the first three months of 2022, almost 4 million Russian citizens left the country.