FILE - Ilya Yashin, Russian opposition activist and a municipal deputy of the Krasnoselsky district of Moscow, center, listens to the court's decision in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, June 29, 2022. Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin was spotted at search at his apartment in Moscow on Tuesday evening, July 12, 2022. According to Yashin's lawyer, the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against him of spreading deliberately false information about the Russian Army. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, file)
The Associated Press
Russian prosecutors on Tuesday brought criminal charges against another opposition figure who has criticized Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, his lawyer said.
Ilya Yashin was due to be released after spending 15 days in jail on charges of failing to obey police. Instead, Yashin was charged under a new law making it a crime to spread false information about the military, said his lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov. It carries a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
Prosecutors were searching Yashin's Moscow home on Tuesday evening, Prokhorov said on Facebook.
Russia has cracked down on those who criticism what it calls the 'œspecial military operation'ť in Ukraine. Vladimir Kara-Muza, a well-known opposition figure, was arrested in April and charged under the same law.
FILE - Russian opposition activist Ilya Yashin is escorted to a court before a hearing in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin was spotted at search at his apartment in Moscow on Tuesday evening, July 12, 2022. According to Yashin's lawyer, the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against him of spreading deliberately false information about the Russian Army. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, file)
The Associated Press