Known Kremlin critic Yashin moved to an unknown location
Ilja Jaschin, sentenced to eight and a half years in prison, has been moved from his prison to an unknown location. His lawyer, Tatjana Solomina, did not provide further details in her Telegram statement on Tuesday but noted that other critics of the Ukraine war have also been transferred. This includes Oleg Orlow, the chairman of the human rights group Memorial, musician Alexandra Skotchilenko, and two employees of Alexei Navalny, who died in custody in February.
Memorial reported that Kevin Liik, a German-born Russian, has also been transferred from his prison. Liik was sentenced to four years in prison for passing information to German authorities. News of these transfers sparked speculation online about a possible prisoner exchange. However, Russian authorities often transfer prisoners without informing their lawyers and families, and some only reappear after weeks.
Jaschin is one of the few known Kremlin critics who remained in Russia after the start of the war. He was arrested in June 2022 and found guilty of spreading false information about Russian soldiers for reporting on killed civilians in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha on YouTube. Despite his harsh sentence, Jaschin continued his criticism. His employees regularly update his social media pages with messages he spreads from prison. Jaschin's YouTube channel has over 1.5 million subscribers.
Jaschin's transfer to an unknown location has already taken place, as his lawyer confirmed. This move follows a similar pattern seen with other critics of the Ukraine war, who were also relocated without detailed explanations.
