A Moscow court docket has ordered the arrest of outstanding movie producer Alexander Rodnyansky and theatre director Ivan Vyrypaev for “spreading false data” concerning the Russian military.
The preliminary court docket hearings towards Rodnyansky and Vyrypaev have been held on 27 April, however not reported by the court docket till Wednesday.
Based on the court docket’s press service, Rodnyansky and Vyrypaev, who’re primarily based exterior Russia, will likely be positioned in custody as soon as Russian authorities handle to detain them or to get them extradited. Russia’s Inside Ministry moreover put Vyrypaev on the federal needed record.
Kyiv-born Rodnyansky has been among the many most influential figures in Russian cinema in latest many years. He left Russia days after the beginning of the nation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has repeatedly spoken brazenly towards the conflict. In October 2022, Russia’s Justice Ministry declared Rodnyansky a “international agent”.
The movie producer at the moment splits his time between Ukraine, Europe and Los Angeles, and is reportedly at the moment on the Cannes movie pageant. A producer of greater than 30 movies, 4 have been nominated for an Oscar in the most effective international movie class: Chief in Love, Est-Ouest, Leviathan and Loveless.
Speaking to Variety last year, Rodnyansky stated he had fully reduce ties with Russia, saying: “I left behind all the pieces. The corporate, the home, all the pieces. Every part that I had.” He stated he believed a return would solely be potential “when the conflict is over, [and] when Putin is over … I do imagine Russia ought to be punished in some ways. It’s deserved.”
Common playwright, director and actor Vyrypaev has been dwelling and dealing in Warsaw for a number of years and has additionally spoken in opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Also on Wednesday, a Moscow court docket handed opposition determine and anti-war activist Mikhail Krieger a seven-year jail sentence.
Krieger was arrested in November on prices of justifying terrorism and inciting hatred with the specter of violence, regarding social media posts from 2020 by which he praised the organisers of assaults at Federal Safety Service buildings and referred to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s hanging. Prosecutors on Tuesday requested a nine-year sentence.
In court docket, simply previous to his sentencing, Krieger stated he was being prosecuted for his “anti-war and now brazenly pro-Ukrainian place”.
Since Putin despatched troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the federal government has waged a crackdown on dissent unseen for the reason that Soviet period.
The Kremlin’s sweeping marketing campaign of repression has criminalised criticism of the conflict. Along with fines and jail sentences, these accused have been fired, blacklisted, branded as “international brokers” or have fled Russia.
Related Press contributed to this report
