Court extends detention of Ryazan Yabloko leader Konstantin Smirnov until the end of summer
Press Release, 22.04.2026
Photo: Konstantin Smirnov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
The Sovetsky District Court of Ryazan extended the detention of Ryazan Yabloko leader and editor-in-chief of the online media Vidsboku, Konstantin Smirnov, until 26 August on 22 April.
Smirnov has been held in a remand prison since 31 January of 2025 on charges of so-called “extortion”. In reality, he is being prosecuted on political grounds for his opposition to municipal reform: he informed residents of the region about the forthcoming abolition of rural settlements and, consequently liquidation of deputies’ councils there, took part in public hearings on the merger of settlements, and covered the hearings — which were mired in controversy — in the media and online.
In early April of this year, Presidential Human Rights Council member and journalist Eva Merkachyova once again stood surety for Konstantin. She submitted a request to the court to change the remand measure applied to the Ryazan Yabloko leader, stressing that “detention is an excessive measure that can only be applied to those who have committed violent or particularly grave crimes”.
Posted: April 22nd, 2026 under Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Judiciary, Yabloko's Regional Branches.