23:20, 3 October 2024

Court extends arrest of blogger Vadim Kharchenko*

Vadim Kharchenko* (included by the Russian Minister of Justice into the register of foreign agents), screenshot of the video posted on the YouTube channel "Lichnoe Mnenie" ("A Personal Opinion") on February 5, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uesdL3tO7vM

A court in Gelendzhik has extended until December 6 the arrest of blogger Vadim Kharchenko*, accused of defamation, discrediting the Russian Armed Forces, insulting the feelings of believers, and calling for extremism.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on February 20, 2023, friends of Vadim Kharchenko* expressed their fears for his life and noted that the blogger had not been communicating with them for two weeks already. On March 1, it became known that Vadim Kharchenko* was under investigation in a criminal case on discrediting the Russian Armed Forces. The court placed the blogger under arrest.

Vadim Kharchenko* has pleaded not guilty. The blogger considers his criminal prosecution to be revenge for criticizing corrupt officials.

Before her detention, Natalia Fedorenko, an advocate of Vadim Kharchenko*, reported that advocate Krasnoschekov, an injured party in the case against Vadim Kharchenko*, tried to add another episode of the charge to the case, but investigators refused him.

Let us remind you that on September 26, at the request of the injured party and the public prosecutor, the court closed the trial in the case against blogger Vadim Kharchenko*. And on October 1, blogger’s advocate Natalia Fedorenko was taken into custody in the case that was instituted against her after she had started to defend Vadim Kharchenko*.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 2, 2024 at 11:59 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: СK correspondent