Russia's Razvozzhayev Retracts Confession

Leonid Razvozzhayev's lawyers say he was kidnapped in Ukraine last week, "tortured," and brought to Moscow against his will.

Russian activist Leonid Razvozzhayev has retracted his confession to plotting mass riots, which he allegedly signed in custody.

Razvozzhayev's lawyer said after visiting his client in detention on October 25 that Razvozzhayev had written an official statement retracting his earlier testimony, saying he had testified under pressure.

Investigators said earlier Razvozzhayev turned himself in to the authorities and confessed on October 22 that a Georgian official financed an anti-Kremlin demonstration in Moscow in May.

Razvozzhayev's lawyers say he was kidnapped from Kyiv, Ukraine, last week, "tortured," and brought to Moscow against his will.

Joseph Kruzich, press attache at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, told Russian media that Washington had officially expressed concern to the Russian Foreign Ministry over Razvozzhayev's situation and asked Moscow to "examine the issue carefully."

Based on reporting by Interfax and RIA Novosti