Russia announces international manhunt for top Navalny aide, arrests him in absentia

On June 29, Moscow’s Nagatinsky District Court arrested top Navalny aide Ivan Zhdanov in absentia. Earlier, his lawyer told the state news agency TASS that the Russian authorities had added Zhdanov to an international wanted list.

Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s recently outlawed Anti-Corruption Foundation (the FBK), currently resides in Lithuania and is wanted by Russia in connection with a criminal case for the malicious non-execution of a court order. Zhdanov stands accused of failing to delete the FBK’s famous corruption investigation into former Russian president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, titled “Don’t Call Him Dimon.”

Russia added Zhdanov to its federal wanted list on June 11. State investigators petitioned the Moscow court to arrest him in absentia on June 28, without specifying which case against Zhdanov the appeal was related to.

According to Zhdanov’s lawyer, there are “four or five criminal cases” against his client under consideration in Russia. In particular, Zhdanov stands accused of creating an NGO that infringes on the liberties and rights of Russian citizens.