The Investigative Committee confirmed that opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev, currently in detention on suspicion of plotting mass riots, has been transferred to a pre-trial detention center in Moscow, a news report said.
"Razvozzhayev was in fact transferred to Moscow. He was placed in one of the detention centers in Moscow," Interfax reported Monday, citing an Investigative Committee spokesperson.
Dmitry Agranovsky, Razvozzhayev's lawyer, wrote on his LiveJournal blog that after three months of detention in Chelyabinsk, Angarsk, and Irkutsk prisons, his client had now been transferred to the Matrosskaya Tishina detention facility in northern Moscow.
On April 1, he said, the Basmanny District Court will consider a complaint about investigators' refusal to open a criminal case into Razvozzhayev's alleged abduction from Kiev in October, where he sought assistance in obtaining refugee status.
Razvozzhayev said he was tortured and pressured into confessing to plotting mass riots in Moscow.
The Investigative Committee has repeatedly refused to open a criminal case into those allegations, saying that Razvozzhayev turned himself in and confessed on his own.
Razvozzhayev has been in detention since last October and faces three separate criminal charges, including illegally crossing the Russia-Ukraine border and plotting mass riots.
His arrest was prompted by a documentary aired on the state-run NTV television channel that accused Razvozzhayev and Left Front activists Sergei Udaltsov and Konstantin Lebedev of using money provided by a Georgian politician to fund the organization of mass riots.
Related articles:
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
