Final Charges Presented To Russian Opposition Activist

Jailed opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev

Russian opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev has been presented with the final charges against him by investigators.

Razvozzhayev was brought from a Moscow detention center to the Investigative Committee’s headquarters on June 19.

He was officially charged with the preparation of and participation in mass unrest and illegal border crossing.

Razvozzhayev was arrested in October for his alleged role in organizing violent demonstrations in May 2012 on Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square, which investigators say was orchestrated by a Georgian politician.

Razvozzhayev has said Russian authorities abducted him from Ukraine in October, brought him back to Russia, and used torture to force him to confess.

Investigators deny that happened, saying Razvozzhayev used his brother's travel documents to leave Russia for Ukraine in mid-October and later returned to Moscow by taxi.


Based on reporting by ITAR-TASS, Interfax, and RIA Novosti