Russian blogger Ilya Remeslo, who criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's war in Ukraine, has been arrested, Reuters and TASS reported, quoted by BTA.
He was detained on charges of spreading false information about the Russian armed forces.
Remeslo was previously a pro-Kremlin figure. He is a lawyer who gained fame as a critic of Alexei Navalny, the anti-Kremlin opposition leader who died in a prison colony in 2024.
But in March, Remeslo published a manifesto on social media that received widespread response. In it, he listed five reasons why he had stopped supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the manifesto, he criticizes the war in Ukraine, restrictions on freedom of speech, and calls for Putin to step down as Russian leader and stand trial.
Remeslo could face up to 10 years in prison.
Days after he published his manifesto, he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in St. Petersburg. The circumstances surrounding his hospitalization remain unclear. It is unclear whether he was forced to stay there or did so voluntarily.
Remeslo was released about a month later.
At the same time, Boris Nadezhdin, a Russian politician who tried to run in the 2024 Russian presidential election against Vladimir Putin, was sentenced to a fine today, world agencies reported.
Nadezhdin was convicted of displaying extremist symbolism. He was fined 1,000 rubles ($12.74).
Nadezhdin is a liberal and served as a member of the Russian parliament from 1999 to 2003. He was arrested earlier this week, shortly after being labeled a foreign agent by Russian authorities.
He faced a 15-day prison sentence on charges of displaying extremist symbols.
The case stems from a social media post linked to a video that featured a photo of Alexei Navalny, whose anti-corruption foundation has been designated an extremist movement in Russia.