Ksenia Fadeyeva, an ally of the jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny, has been taken into immediate custody from house arrest, as reported by fellow activist Andrei Fateyev via his Telegram channel. This move comes amidst an ongoing extremism trial in the Russian city of Tomsk.
Notably, Russian authorities have initiated a hard-hitting crackdown against journalists, anti-war activists, and human rights advocates following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Alexei Navalny, known as a vocal critic of the Kremlin, has been meted with sentences amounting to close to 30 years on charges such as organizing an extremist community and publicly advocating extremist activities, among others. The ruling was finally pronounced in August of 2023.
Over the course of time, various personnel connected to Navalny have been embroiled in legal proceedings. His lawyers were detained on extremism charges in October 2023, and more recently, photographer Aleksandr Strukov, found himself incarcerated on allegations which included incitement to terrorism.
An outspoken critic of corruption and proponent of systemic change, Fadeyeva had been a deputy of the Tomsk City Duma and was closely associated with Navalny during her stint at his city office. Her trial started in August after being added to Russia’s list of “terrorists”. She is but one of the many on this list, which has led international rights groups to criticize Russian authorities for weaponizing their laws to quell dissent.
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