The former coordinator of “Holos” from Pskov was arrested in absentia

The court in Pskov arrested in absentia the former coordinator of the local branch of the “Voice” movement, Vladimir Zhilinsky, on the charge of evading the duties of a “foreign agent”. This was reported by the press service of the courts of the Pskov region.

The reason for initiating the case could be the fines imposed on Zhylinsky for refusing to mark posts on social networks.

This is the second such case in Russia. Earlier, similar charges were brought in absentia against Tver activist Artem Vazhenkov, who was later declared wanted.

Vladimir Zhilinsky is a well-known human rights defender in the Pskov region. Since 2010, he participated in protest rallies, was an election observer. In 2018, he became the coordinator of the “Voice” movement in the Pskov region and opened the creative space “SHAG” in the city. Famous politicians, artists and writers gave lectures there. Among the guests was Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov. In 2019, Zhylinsky created the “Detainee Support Group”, which included lawyers and journalists. The organization helped political prisoners and detainees at protests.

The Ministry of Justice declared Zhilinsky a “foreign agent” in September 2021, along with 19 more participants and coordinators of “The Voice”, including Vazhenkov. In response, the human rights defender hung a sheet of paper with the text marking the content of “foreign agents” on the door of the regional office of the Ministry of Justice. In December of the same year, Zhilinsky left Russia for Georgia with his family.