Putin critics cry foul over World Cup detention as Kremlin tightens security
A MOSCOW court has ordered that a 19-year-old critic of Vladimir Putin be held in pre-trial detention until September, as the Kremlin uses sweeping security measures to drown out dissent during the World Cup.
Judge Anatoly Kostyukov turned down veterinary student Maria Dubovik’s plea for home arrest.
She and five others who disparaged Mr Putin’s government in private chats were jailed in March and face 10 years for “organising an extremist group”.
They include Anna Pavlikova and Vyacheslav Kryukov, who were 17 and 19 at the time of their arrest. Four more people are under home arrest.
A 2017 presidential decree banned all rallies during the World Cup not approved by local authorities, and the Russian government has begun implementing heavy security for the event.
However, critics argue state agencies are clamping down on all forms of dissent ahead of the start of the competition next week.
According to their lawyers, Ms Dubovik and the others were entrapped by undercover agents.
“The increased security measures [around the World Cup] have led to innocent people getting in trouble, and dishonest law enforcement officials are using this to their advantage,” lawyer Maxim Pashkov said.
“The atmosphere is such that they arrest first and figure out what actually happened later.”
Nine anti-fascists have also been arrested for allegedly plotting to set off bombs during the World Cup, accusations Human Rights Watch insisted were based on confessions extracted under torture.