Yashin, a critic of the war in Ukraine, is accused of disobeying police, his lawyer says.
Russian police have arrested prominent opposition politician Ilya Yashin, according to a lawyer for opposition figures and a Russian journalist.
Irina Babloyan, a journalist and a friend of Yashin’s, said the politician was arrested on Monday while the two were walking together in a park in the capital, Moscow.
“The police came and took Ilya away,” Babloyan said on the Telegram messaging app.
A Moscow court could decide on Tuesday whether Yashin is jailed, freed or put under house arrest on the charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 days in jail, his lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov, said.
“According to information that I have, he is accused of disobeying police,” Prokhorov wrote on Facebook, adding he was not allowed to visit his client.
Везут в Хамовнический суд, который, видимо, оформит мне 15 суток ареста. Расскажу подробности позже. pic.twitter.com/ekd3OASBkU
— Илья Яшин (@IlyaYashin) June 28, 2022
In a tweet on Tuesday morning, Yashin posted a selfie, saying he was on his way to a court hearing that “apparently will formalise 15 days of detention for me”.
“Will tell you details later.”
Yashin, a municipal deputy for Moscow’s Krasnoselsky district, is one of few Russian politicians who openly oppose the war in Ukraine and remain in Russia.
“I am staying in Russia,” the 38-year-old tweeted on March 7. “I have said before and I keep repeating: Russians and Ukrainians should not be killing each other. If I am destined to end up in prison for anti-war speeches, I will accept it with dignity.”
Yashin’s reported arrest is the latest in a wider and continuing crackdown against opponents of the Kremlin, after Russia adopted a law criminalising the spread of false information about its military troops in Ukraine.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, thousands of people have been arrested at protests in dozens of cities across Russia.
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