The court in Moscow arrested the creator of Mr. Freeman Pavel Muntyan in absentia

A court in Moscow arrested producer-animator Pavlo Muntyan, the creator of the Mr. Freeman animated series, in absentia. The author of the cartoons will be placed in a pre-trial detention center if he is detained in Russia or extradited.

In October of last year, a criminal case was initiated against Muntyan under the article about the so-called fakes about the Russian army. The reason could be his posts in Telegram, in which he talked about the alleged crimes of the Russian military in Ukraine. Last December, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia declared Muntyan wanted. In addition, he was fined 40,000 rubles under the article on discrediting the armed forces.

In April 2022, the Ministry of Justice of Russia added Muntyan to the register of so-called foreign agents. Muntyan lives in Cyprus. After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he took part in collecting funds to help civilians in Ukraine.

• The animated series Mr. Freeman, the author of the idea and producer of which is Pavel Muntyan, has been on YouTube since 2009 and criticizes the everyday and consumer lifestyle.
• Last December, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced a search for another artist-animator, Oleg Kuvaev, the creator of the cartoon series “Masyan”. Kuvaev was also included in the list of “foreign agents”. He spoke out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and released several anti-war series “Masyan”.