Son of jailed ex-governor Sergey Furgal denies reports of his own arrest

On Monday, October 5, reports emerged about the alleged arrest of Anton Furgal — the son of jailed former Khabarovsk Krai governor Sergey Furgal. This was first reported by the television channels Pyaty Kanal and REN TV. 

Without citing any sources, the television channels claimed that Furgal junior received an administrative protocol for violating the rules on organizing or holding public events (article 20.2 of the Administrative Code). REN TV claimed that Anton Furgal is suspected of calling for participation in protests in support of his father.

Later, OVD-Info lawyer Andrey Demidov told MBX Media that Anton Furgal had been arrested. According to Demidov, the official reason for the arrest was unknown. 

Anton Furgal later told RBK that he hadn’t been detained. Asked about his alleged arrest, Furgal said “No, everything’s normal, everything’s fine,” RBK reported. 

According to Moscow’s Public Oversight Commission, the son of the former governor was called to the Investigative Committee for questioning. But the Investigative Committee’s Khabarovsk branch refutes these claims.

Previously, blogger and Khabarovsk City Duma Deputy Alexander Kayan also reported that Anton Furgal had been arrested. He told AmurMedia that he received an audio message in which Anton Furgal allegedly said “They took me.” At the time, Kayan said that Furgal junior couldn’t be reached by phone. 

An activist from Khabarovsk also told OVD-Info that he saw a man resembling Anton Furgal being led out of Municipal Police Department Number Four, but officials at the police department told lawyer Andrey Demidov that Anton Furgal hadn’t been brought in.

Then-governor Sergey Furgal was arrested on July 9, 2020, on charges of organizing multiple murders in the early 2000s. He was jailed in Moscow and dismissed from his post not long afterwards. Furgal’s arrest sparked mass protests in Khabarovsk, which have continued up until this day.