Press Release, 6.10.2025

Photo: Maxim Kruglov in Zamoskvoretsky District Court, Moscow / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

Lawyer Natalia Tikhonova has appealed the arrest of Maxim Kruglov, Deputy Chairman of the Yabloko party. In the complaint against the chosen preventive measure, the defence emphasises that the court had no grounds whatsoever for imposing a preventive measure on Kruglov at all, let alone one as severe as detention.

“The court did not fully examine the materials submitted by the defence characterising Kruglov’s personality, nor did it examine the circumstances set out by the investigation as evidence of Kruglov’s involvement in the act with which he is charged,” Tikhonova emphasises.

The defence lawyer will be notified in advance of the date of the court hearing to consider the complaint, and the information will be posted additionally.

It should be noted that on 1 October, Maxim Kruglov was charged with “public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code, the so-called “fakes” article). Already on 2 October, Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow imposed a preventive measure for Kruglov in the form of detention in a remand centre until 29 November. The court ignored the personal guarantees of party leaders Nikolai Rybakov, Grigory Yavlinsky and Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexei Arbatov, as well as reference letters from Kruglov’s workplaces and the fact that he has no criminal record or any previous problems with the law. The court nevertheless agreed with the prosecutor’s untenable arguments that Kruglov could supposedly leave the country, despite his confiscated passport for travels abroad.

At present, Maxim Kruglov is being held in remand centre No. 7 (Kapotnya, Moscow). Yabloko asks its members to write letters of support to Maxim.