Dmitry Ivanov, the creator and author of the Protest Moscow State University Telegram channel, was left in jail until September 2, having previously been found guilty in the case of spreading “fake news” about the Russian army. It is reported by Sota.
The prosecutor's office believes that, having been released, Ivanov will be able to hide from the investigation, as he has a passport, and threaten witnesses. The investigation also cited a negative characterization of Ivanov, written by Moscow State University associate professor Lyudmila Grigoryeva, who is known for accusing students of activities against Russia.
Lawyer Maria Eismont argued that staying in Russia was Ivanov's principled position. She clarified that the negative characteristics of Ivanov, cited by the investigation, with the wording "reminiscent of the processes of the 30s of the XX century." The defense attached characteristics and personal guarantees to the case with a request to mitigate the preventive measure: ex-press minister Mikhail Fedotov, politician Marina Litvinovich, sociologist Grigory Yudin, historian Nikolai Svanidze and Alexei Simonov, film director and son of writer Konstantin Simonov vouched for Ivanov.
Ivanov has been under arrest since April 28, first on administrative cases, then on criminal charges: under Part 2 of Art. 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Ivanov faces 5 to 10 years in prison. According to an anonymous Sota source, the investigators considered the posts of the Protest Moscow State University about Russian attacks on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the losses of Russian aircraft in Ukraine, war crimes in Bucha and Irpen, as well as a post where the “special operation” is called war, to be “deliberately false” information.
On June 2, the apartment of Ivanov's parents, as well as another author of Protest MSU, Yuliaslava Korolevich , and Sota employee Gleb Yakutov , were searched. Ivanov's mother and stepfather were released after interrogation by the Investigative Committee, they also received the status of witnesses in a criminal case about "fakes" about the army. Lawyers were not allowed to interrogate the parents.
On May 8, the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow arrested Dmitry Ivanov for 25 days. He was found guilty under the article on repeated violation of the procedure for holding the action (part 8 of article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). As OVD-Info reported, the reason was a repost about the war in Ukraine, which he made from the Telegram channel of Alexei Navalny on March 4. On March 16, unknown people covered the door of Dmitry Ivanov's apartment. Several letters Z appeared on it and the inscription: "Do not betray the Motherland, Dima."
