A 65-year-old resident of Voronezh, a regional centre in western Russia, accused of inciting extremism, has been sent to a psychiatric hospital pending trial.

Yury Avsenyev, a 65-year-old resident of Voronezh, a regional centre in western Russia, who is being prosecuted on charges of inciting extremism (Part 2, Article 280 of the Criminal Code), has been sent to a psychiatric hospital pending trial. This was reported by “Slovo Zashchite” (“Word in Defence”).

The hearing was held behind closed doors. The judge made the decision following a request from an FSB investigator, which was submitted the day after Avsenyev attended a court session concerning an administrative case against activist Anzhela Gushchina for “discrediting the army” (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code).

Security officers raided Avsenyev’s home on 22 April. It later became known that a criminal case had been opened against the elderly man for inciting extremism. It is unclear whether the investigative actions at Avsenyev’s residence were part of his own criminal case or related to a series of searches targeting seven local activists as part of the case involving Grigory Severin.

The grounds for prosecution were a comment posted on the social network VKontakte: “Glory to Ukraine, death to the fascist occupiers,” left under a post featuring a photograph of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

As reported by “Slovo Zashchite,” the elderly man admitted guilt during the first interrogation because he was in a hurry to get home, worried that his disconnected fridge might start leaking.

Avsenyev was under a travel restriction order, with a ban on leaving Voronezh. He is represented by a court-appointed lawyer.