A Moscow court has issued an arrest order for Grigory Chkhartishvili, popularly known by his pen name Boris Akunin, on charges of “justifying terrorism.” The decision by Moscow’s Basmanny District Court comes after the Russian-Georgian writer was pranked by pro-Kremlin activists, leading to his addition to Russia’s register of “extremists and terrorists.” The charges stem from a phone call in which Chkhartishvili, currently residing abroad, allegedly expressed support for Ukraine, prompting Russian authorities to open a criminal case against him for “discrediting the army” and spreading “fake news” about the Russian military.
The law under which Akunin is being charged was adopted following Russia’s military actions in Ukraine in February 2022 and has been frequently used against critics of the Kremlin. Despite the charges, it is unlikely that Akunin, who lives in London, will be detained. Following the allegations, one of Russia’s leading publishers, AST, announced a suspension in the printing and sale of Akunin’s books, a move the author described as a significant milestone, reminiscent of accusations not seen since the era of Stalin’s purges.
In related news, allies of Alexei Navalny, a prominent Kremlin opponent, reported that Navalny has been placed in a solitary punishment cell in an Arctic penal colony, marking his latest punishment among numerous solitary confinements for minor infractions. Navalny, serving a 19-year sentence on charges he deems politically motivated, has been imprisoned since January 2021 after returning to Moscow from Germany, where he was recovering from a nerve agent poisoning he attributes to the Kremlin.
Pic Courtesy: google/ images are subject to copyright
