A Russian paratrooper who fled his homeland after criticizing the invasion of Ukraine has entered France following official authorization that allowed him to leave the asylum seekers' waiting area at Charles de Gaulle Airport on August 30.
A lawyer for Pavel Filatyev said her client had been freed and has eight days to file an asylum claim.
"We are delighted at this decision and are going to file the political asylum request in the days ahead," the lawyer, Kamalia Mehtiyeva, said.
Filatyev took part in Russia's attack on Ukraine in February and March. He later wrote a book titled ZOV (A Call) in Russian, a play on the signs "Z" and "V" that mark Russian military vehicles in Ukraine and have become symbols promoted by Russian state media and officials of support for the war.
Before leaving Russia, Filatyev gave an interview to The Guardian saying that after his book was published, he changed his address several times to avoid possible arrest.
A France-based human rights activist said his group had helped Filatyev "urgently" leave Russia.
Filatyev also said that he was not aware of whether a criminal case had been launched against him. But he told AFP from the airport that, "When I heard the higher-ups were calling for me to be sentenced to 15 years in prison for fake news, I realized that I wouldn't get anywhere here and my lawyers couldn't do anything for me in Russia."
President Vladimir Putin in March 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, launched in late February.
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.
Another Russian soldier, Daniil Frolkin of the 64th Motorized Rifle Brigade from the Far Eastern Khabarovsk Krai region, recently acknowledged that Russian troops took part in robberies, looting, and murders of civilians in Ukraine under orders from their supervisors. He also confessed that he had killed a Ukrainian civilian in the village of Andriyivka.