The court sent the leader of the Ryazan Yabloko Konstantin Smirnov to a pretrial detention centre for two months
Press Release, 31.01.2025
Photo: Konstantin Smirnov in the courtroom / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
The court arrested Konstantin Smirnov, the leader of the Ryazan branch of Yabloko and deputy of the Dubrovichsky rural settlement, for two months. He has been sent to a pretrial detention centre until March. This was reported from the court by Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov who was present at the trial.
Konstantin Smirnov said in the court, “I see no reason for arrest, I believe that nothing will hinder the investigation if I am under home arrest”.
The defence also petitioned to place Smirnov under home arrest due to his health condition, as well as the need for constant care for his sick mother.
Nikolai Rybakov commented on the court’s decision “[Smironov’s online media] Vid Sboku (A Side View) is the most quoted publication in the Ryazan region. Konstantin is not only the head of this media, but also the main opposition politician in the region. All the events happening to Konstantin Smirnov today are obviously a fight against him as an active politician and journalist”.
Photo: Konstantin Smirnov in the courtroom / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
Konstantin Smirnov was detained on 30 January by the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Investigative Committee officers on charges of extortion. . Yabloko is convinced that this is revenge for his active work as a municipal deputy and political activity, in particular, for the campaign against the authorities’ initiative on abolishing local self-governing in the region.
This is already the eighth criminal case against members of Yabloko over the past three years. The leaders of three regional branches of the party – in Yakutia, Kamchatka and the Vologda region – were accused of “discrediting the army”, activists from Abakan and St. Petersburg – of “fakes about the army”. Deputy Chairman of the party Lev Shlosberg became a defendant in a criminal case on failure to fulfill the duties of a “foreign agent”.
Read more about the persecution of Yabloko members after the start of the special military operation here.
Posted: January 31st, 2025 under Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Judiciary, Regional and Local Elections, Regional and Local Elections 2021, Regional policies and Local Self-Governing, Yabloko's Regional Branches, Без рубрики.