Russia has charged Tatar political expert and journalist Ruslan Aysin for breaking restrictions on “foreign agents” and the “rehabilitation of Nazism,” the Mash Iptash Telegram news channel reported on Tuesday.
“I learned about [the charges] from journalists who have been calling me since the morning. I received no [official] notification anywhere,” Aysin told The Moscow Times on Tuesday.
“It wasn’t a surprise because I have purposefully ignored the requirements that come with the ‘foreign agent’ label,” he added.
A native of the republic of Tatarstan’s capital Kazan, Aysin is well known in the region for his commentary and publications on regional politics and history, as well as on political Islam.
Aysin said he is not aware which one of his public statements or publications served as a pretext for the “rehabilitation of Nazism” charges against him.
“I think they could find the so-called ‘rehabilitation of Nazism’ in any one of my statements because that’s what they consider the very fight against Putin’s regime,” he told The Moscow Times.
“It’s funny that they are accusing me of ‘rehabilitation of Nazism’ given that it [Russia] a Nazi political regime,” the analyst added.
Aysin, who left Russia for Turkey after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, said he will be represented in court by a trusted independent lawyer.
If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison.
