Russia orders jailing of exiled writer Boris Akunin
A Russian court on Monday sentenced author Boris Akunin to 14 years jail in absentia after he voiced support for Ukraine and suggested a “revolution” could replace Vladimir Putin.
The 69-year-old, best known for his historical detective novels, has been a longstanding critic of the Kremlin and its military offensive on Ukraine.
He had already been added to Russia’s terrorism blacklist and labelled a “foreign agent” by Moscow for opposing the conflict.
Moscow’s Second Western District Military Court on Monday found Akunin guilty of “justifying terrorism” over a February 2024 Telegram post in which he said he was “for revolution” in Russia, the Mediazona news outlet reported.
He was also found guilty of “aiding terrorist activity” by making pro-Ukraine comments in a phone call with Russian pranksters posing as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and of violating Russia’s “foreign agent” laws.
Akunin described the trial as a “farce”.
The Georgian-born writer, who has lived abroad since 2014, is one of Russia’s most widely read contemporary authors.
Moscow made disparagement of its military illegal weeks after launching its assault on Ukraine, and has detained thousands of the conflict’s opponents since.
Several prominent cultural figures have fled Russia since it launched its military operation in Ukraine, and those who have stayed face strict censorship.
bur/yad
