MOSCOW -- Russian authorities have added one of the country's most well-known TV journalists and Kremlin critics to their wanted list amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent that has intensified since Moscow launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine more than two months ago.
Aleksandr Nevzorov's name appeared on the Interior Ministry's registry of wanted persons on May 4. According to the ministry, the former lawmaker, who is currently out of Russia in an unspecified country, 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.
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 penalty possible of up to three years in prison. The same provision applies to calls for sanctions against Russia.