Tomsk journalist Ihor Kuznetsov was placed in pre-trial detention center

Tomsk journalist Ihor Kuznetsov was sent to a pre-trial detention center in Moscow after undergoing a psychological and psychiatric examination at the Serbian Scientific Research Institute. This was reported to Sibir.Realii editors by lawyer and human rights activist Aleksey Pryanishnikov.

According to the lawyer, the preliminary results of the examination will be known in 10 days.

“The expert examination was initiated by the investigator in the criminal case. Its task is to determine whether Kuznetsov is sane and whether he is subject to punishment in the criminal case,” Pryanishnikov clarified.

Last August, the Investigative Committee charged Ihor Kuznetsov with two criminal articles. The journalist was accused of involving people in the organization of mass riots (up to ten years in the colony) and extremism (up to six years). He is responsible for the administration of the chats of the “What to do!” movement last year.

In early June, Kuznetsov was also accused of participating in an extremist community. According to the investigation, in 2019 the journalist joined the “Left Resistance” movement headed by Daria Polyudova, which is recognized as extremist in Russia.

Kuznetsov broadcasted protest actions for the RusNews YouTube channel and went to pickets. In September 2021, he was arrested in connection with the Telegram channel “What to do!”. Kuznetsov and other activists were accused of creating an extremist community and calling for mass riots before the State Duma elections.

Kuznetsov himself said that he did not organize protests, but administered the channel for exclusive information about future actions for RusNews, that is, he acted as a journalist as part of an editorial assignment.