Opposition figure Ilya Yashin sentenced to 15 days in jail for 'disobeying police'
Opposition politician Ilya Yashin has been sentenced to 15 days in prison by a judge at Moscow’s Khamovniki District Court, Mediazona reported on Tuesday. Yashin stands accused of disobeying officers’ lawful demands after he allegedly insulted and swore at police in a park early Tuesday morning. According to journalist Irina Babloyan, who was with Yashin at the time of his arrest, the allegations are false.
“I was hanging out with my friend Ilya Yashin in the park, in [Moscow’s] Khamovniki [district]. The police came up to us and took Ilya away to an unknown location,” Babloyan said in a post.
Yashin wrote on Telegram that he believes he was arrested for “political reasons.”
I’m an opposition politician. An independent deputy, a critic of President Putin, and an opponent of the war in Ukraine. This arrest is a way to put pressure on me.
This likely has something to do with the municipal elections that began yesterday in Moscow. They’re trying to isolate me, to prevent me from organizating an electoral campaign.
I imagine this arrest may be the prologue to some future criminal case. Just like how they arrested my comrade Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was sent directly from a detention center to a remand prison on criminal charges for his anti-war statements.
But in any case, this arrest is another hint from the authorities — an insistent invitation to emigrate.
- Ilya Yashin is one of the few opposition figures in Russia who has remained in the country and openly spoken out against the war.
- In May, Yashin had four administrative reports filed against him for “discrediting” the Russian army. “As far as I understand, I’m facing a heavy fine, and, in the longer term, criminal prosecution. But my position is simple. I have no intention of running and hiding from anyone, and I’m not going to retract my words,” he said at the time. He was later fined 90,000 rubles (about $1,700).