Authorities in the northwestern city of Pskov have filed a new criminal charge against opposition politician Lev Shlosberg, accusing him of spreading “false information” about the Russian military, the liberal Yabloko party said Friday.
The charge, the third brought against Shlosberg this year, was announced three days before he was due to be released from house arrest, which he has been under since June.
Shlosberg is already on trial for “discrediting” the Russian military, which carries a maximum charge of five years in prison. Last month, he was sentenced to 420 hours of community service on another charge of violating Russia’s “foreign agent” law.
Yabloko said the latest “army fakes” case stems from a Telegram post from February 2022. The party said Shlosberg was formally notified of the charge on Thursday.
Shlosberg denies the accusations.
A judge was expected to decide Friday whether to keep him under house arrest, place him in pretrial detention or release him pending trial.
Shlosberg, a senior Yabloko member, has remained in Russia despite his opposition to the war. The 62-year-old politician was already fined twice on administrative charges of “discrediting” the military.
Russia’s Justice Ministry labeled him a “foreign agent” in June 2023.
In October, a judge barred Shlosberg from using the internet or a phone and from contacting anyone outside his household for four months.
Yabloko is one of Russia’s few legal opposition parties. It has consistently opposed the war in Ukraine and called for a ceasefire, though it has faced declining visibility and pressure under wartime censorship laws.
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