MOSCOW -- A Moscow court has ordered the arrest in absentia of Aleksandr Nevzorov, one of Russia's most well-known TV journalists and a Kremlin critic, amid a crackdown on dissent that has intensified since Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine more than two months ago.
On May 6, Moscow's Basmanny District Court ordered that Nevzorov be detained for two months should he return to Russia.
Nevzorov, who is believed to be in Israel, has denied the allegations against him.
His name appeared on the Russian Interior Ministry's registry of wanted persons on May 4.
According to the ministry, the former lawmaker is suspected of the "distributing false information about the Russian armed forces."
The Investigative Committee said on March 22 that it had launched a probe against Nevzorov over statements he made on Instagram and YouTube that criticized the armed forces for an assault on a nursing home in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
Many civilians were killed in the attack, which Nevzorov called a deliberate shelling by Russian forces. The Kremlin has denied that civilians were targeted.
In early March, 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 individuals convicted of an offense, while the penalty for the distribution of "deliberately false information" about the Russian Army 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.
Eight days after invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russia passed a law providing jail terms of up to 15 years for those convicted of intentionally spreading "fake" news about Russia's military