The Russian Interior Ministry has put opposition politician and Navalny associate Lyubov Sobol on its wanted list, Interfax reports.
An entry for Sobol appeared in the Interior Ministry’s wanted persons database on Wednesday, October 20. The entry, which includes a photo of Sobol, states that she is “wanted under an article of the criminal code,” but provides no further details.
“They took a photo from my 2019 hunger strike. Did the cops not have another one, or is this their favorite?”
Lyubov Sobol
In August, a Moscow court sentenced Lyubov Sobol to 18 months of restricted freedom as part of the “Sanitary Case.” Under this parole-like sentence, she was prohibited from traveling outside of Moscow and the Moscow region. Earlier, in April, a Moscow court found Sobol guilty of trespassing at the home of Konstantin Kudryavtsev — one of the FSB agents implicated in Navalny’s August 2020 poisoning. The court handed her a one-year provisional sentence of community service, in addition to garnishing 10 percent of her wages.
Also in August, Interfax reported that according to an unnamed source, Sobol had left Russia for Turkey. Sobol later said that she had traveled to Armenia for medical treatment.
The ‘Sanitary Case’
State investigators launched the “Sanitary Case” in January 2021, accusing ten of Alexey Navalny’s associates of inciting violations of pandemic restrictions in connection with a pro-Navalny rally that took place in Moscow on January 23. According to the investigation, the defendants in the case called for people to attend rally, thereby provoking violations of sanitary and epidemiological rules.