Russian court asked to curb Navalny aide’s freedom for 2 years

Russian prosecutors are asking a court to put restrictions on Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh, who is currently held under house arrest pending trial, for two years, according to her Twitter account.

“The prosecutor’s office requests that Kira be granted with 2 years of restricted freedom … and that she remains under house arrest until the sentence enters into force,” a post in Yarmysh’s Twitter account said on Thursday.

The Russian Prosecutor General’s office did not immediately reply to a Reuters’ request for comment.

The court’s verdict is expected on August 16, another post in Yarmysh’s Twitter account said.

Russia has cracked down on the opposition before parliamentary elections scheduled to be held in September. Most of Navalny’s prominent allies have either left Russia or are facing prosecution.

Veronika Polyakova, Yarmysh’s lawyer, said on Twitter that the prosecutors want to prohibit Yarmysh from leaving home between 10pm and 6am, leaving Moscow or changing the place of residence.

Yarmysh has been under house arrest since February accused of breaching COVID-19 safety regulations at what the authorities said was an unauthorised protest in support of Navalny, a charge she has said is politically motivated.

The 31-year-old has been Navalny’s spokesperson since 2014.

Navalny, a critic of President Vladimir Putin, is himself serving a two-and-a-half-year jail term for parole violations related to an embezzlement conviction he has claimed was trumped up.