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On 29 May, the Soviet District Court of Nizhny Novgorod issued an arrest warrant in absentia for Igor Eidman, who is accused under articles relating to military “fake news” (paragraph “d” of part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code), failure to comply with the duties of a “foreign agent” (part 2, article 330.1 of the Criminal Code), and participation in a terrorist organisation (part 2, article 205.5 of the Criminal Code). Eidman shared this information with OVD-Info.
The Investigative Committee accuses Eidman of participating in a terrorist organisation because he reposted a fundraiser for drones for the Freedom of Russia Legion on his Telegram channel, as well as for a March 2024 interview with the Ukrainian channel “Seychas” where he spoke about the need to support armed units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that include Russian volunteers. Because of this, he is accused of participating in the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps, and the Siberian Battalion.
Eidman is charged under the military “fake news” article for mentioning crimes committed by Russian forces in Bucha in a post, and under the “foreign agent” law due to a lack of required labels in his posts and failing to submit reports to the Ministry of Justice.
Since last autumn, Eidman has also been on a wanted list in connection with a criminal case regarding a terrorist community (article 205.4 of the Criminal Code), initiated due to activities of the “Free Russia Forum.”
- The publicist left Russia in 2011. In 2021, the Prosecutor General’s Office designated the Forum of Russian-speaking Europeans, headed by Eidman, as an “undesirable” organisation. Two years later, Eidman himself was added to the list of “foreign agents.” He also leads the German-Russian Human Rights Dialogue association, which operates with the support of the German Foreign Ministry.