the accused in the “sanitary case” is fighting in the “Freedom of Russia” legion

In the “Freedom of Russia” legion, which participates in the war in Ukraine on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but consists, as it is claimed, exclusively of Russian citizens, the defendant fights in the “sanitary case” initiated in Russia against the supporters of Alexei Navalny.

As established by the publication “Agentstvo”, we are talking about 24-year-old Dana Akele. He appears in one of the videos, in which fighters of the “Freedom of Russia” legion are fighting in the Shebekinsky District of the Belgorod Region. In addition, it is noted that in March 2022, a person with the same nickname as Akel on social networks asked on one of the forums for travelers how to leave Russia with a “political article”.

The so-called “sanitary case” was initiated by the Investigative Committee of Russia in January 2021 – after actions in support of Alexei Navalny, which took place in dozens of Russian cities. As part of the case, Navalny’s closest associates, including his own brother Oleg, as well as political activists, were arrested or wanted. They were accused of inciting the violation of sanitary and epidemiological rules introduced in connection with the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the defendants in the “sanitary case” were sentenced to imprisonment and conditional terms. Many of them left Russia, which is why the courts replaced their conditional terms with real ones, arrested them in absentia.

According to the “Agentstva” edition, Dana Akel was also detained at a rally in support of Navalny in Moscow. Later, the court fined him 100,000 rubles.

• The Legion “Freedom of Russia” is an armed unit created on the territory of Ukraine, as its representatives claim, from citizens of Russia – including former soldiers of the Russian army, captured by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. As one of their main goals, the members of the legion announced the dismantling of Putin’s regime and the liberation of all Russian territories from it. In the spring and early summer of this year, together with another similar unit, the “Russian Volunteer Corps”, the legion entered the Bryansk and Belgorod regions and captured at least 12 Russian soldiers.
• Ilya Ponomarev, a former member of the State Duma who moved to Kyiv, and a fighter with the callsign Caesar, who, as the media found out, were previously associated with the Russian right-wing radical organization “Impersky Legion” often speak publicly on behalf of “Freedom of Russia”. In Russia, the Svoboda Rossii Legion is recognized as a terrorist organization.