Russian-Georgian writer faces arrest on charges of 'justifying terrorism', 'discrediting Russian army'

A Moscow court on Tuesday issued an arrest order for a renowned detective novelist and dissident, accusing him of “justifying terrorism.” This action comes two months after he fell victim to a prank orchestrated by two pro-Kremlin activists, during which he inadvertently expressed support for Ukraine over a phone call. Grigory Chkhartishvili, who writes under the pseudonym Boris Akunin and resides outside Russia, was the subject of the arrest order issued by Moscow’s Basmanny District Court. The court directed authorities to detain him once apprehended. In December, Russian authorities designated the Russian-Georgian author as part of Russia’s “extremists and terrorists” registry following the aforementioned prank call. During the call, pranksters, identified as Vovan and Lexus, posed as Ukrainian officials, leading to the inadvertent expression of support by Chkhartishvili. A criminal case was opened against Akunin for “discrediting the army” — specifically for “justifying terrorism” and spreading “fake news” about the Russian military. Discrediting the Russian military is a criminal offence under a law adopted after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The law is regularly used against Kremlin critics — although it is unlikely that Akunin, who lives in London, will face detention. After the authorities branded Akunin an extremist, one of Russia’s leading publishers, AST, announced it was suspending the printing and sale of his books. In an online statement, Akunin described his publisher’s move as “an important milestone,” saying that Russian writers had not been accused of terrorism since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s purges. Also on Tuesday, the allies of top Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny reported that the politician and anti-corruption campaigner had been placed in a one-man punishment cell in the remote Arctic penal colony where he is serving out a 19-year sentence. Navalny’s press secretary Kira Yarmysh did not specify the reason, but said that Navalny had already spent months in solitary confinement since he was jailed in 2021, facing the punishment over two dozen times over minor infractions such as failing to properly button his prison uniform. Navalny, 47, has been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. He has since received three prison terms, including on charges of extremism, fraud and contempt of court. Navalny and his allies have rejected all charges against him as politically motivated, and accused the Kremlin of seeking to keep him in jail for life. With inputs from agencies